Underestimation
by superdupertrooper
Summary: Beast Boys has always been the one pushed around--by his enemies and his friends. What will happen when he is pushed over the edge? Who will be there to pick him up? And why is Beast Boy, the ultimate prankster, sad on April Fool's Day? I update ASAP!
1. Author's Note

**Underestimation**

**Author's Note**

This is my first fanfic, so just constructive criticism please! I do not own the Teen Titans, and the history of the characters in the story is completely false. If you don't like stories with angst/fighting, don't read, for there is a lot of it in this fanfic. I would really appreciate your reviews! Thanks!


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

The man with the silver hair and silver moustache watched the twelve different news feeds carefully. The feeds were of the legendary Teen Titans of Jump City, and all screens were focused on the smallest, greenest member. The man watched as Beast Boy morphed from animal to animal, displaying a wealthy knowledge of the animal kingdom as he took down foe after foe with his friends.

'Our friend has grown', the man thought. He carefully studied the changeling's movements and decisions, making notes to himself on Beast Boy's behavior with his friends. The man noticed that the Teen Titans were one cohesive unit, one team all working together.

'But we'll have to change that for this to succeed' he thought, 'and I will succeed.'

'And I will take back what I rightfully mine.'


	3. Mounting

**Mounting**

"Titans, go!"

All sprung into action and leapt towards the criminals, a group of rag-tag bank robbers. Each titan had two to deal with, as did Beast Boy. 'This should be a piece of cake' thought Beast Boy as he charged as a grizzly bear. He swiped at the nearest foe, but he sidestepped out of the way. As Beast Boy charged again, he was surrounded by five others that dropped from the ceiling. The odds against him, he morphed into a snarling lion. The burglars seemed daunted at first, but pressed forward, closing Beast Boy in. They all jumped onto him; there was punching, snarling, kicking, swiping—but Beast Boy was losing. Knowing this, he changed into a hawk and left the burglars in a pile. Morphing back into human form, he turned and faced his attackers with a snarl. One stepped forward, the leader perhaps, and said "Coward!"

"Coward?! Who are you calling 'coward'?!" Beast Boy shouted.

"You, of course. You are the weakest of your group, and you know it. You can't even beat _us_, a group of everyday burglars. You are a freak, a freak of nature. You just hinder your friends, and you will never be as good as them, weakling." With that, the burglars turned and ran away. At the last moment, the same burglar turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs—"Oh yeah, and a happy April Fool's Day!"

It must have been a signal, for the others that were fighting Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven all turned and fled as well. Soon the Titans were alone.

"Booyah! Some easy butt-whooping is just enough to work my appetite for pizza! How 'bout it, ya'll?" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Pizza sounds good. Good job, team!" said Robin.

"That was most effortless, was it not, Raven? They were rather easy foes!" said Starfire happily.

"I'd rather be meditating" replied a bored Raven.

"Well then, let's go! C'mon BB!" shouted Cyborg from the T-Car…

No reply. Beast Boy's back was toward them.

"Beast Boy?"

Slowly Beast Boy turned and walked towards the T-Car, head held low. He got into the T-Car without a word, an enormous feat for Beast Boy, and stared blankly out of the window. The others turned to Robin for an answer, but all he could do was shrug.

----------

Something was definitely up with Beast Boy. He never objected to Cyborg's vote for triple-meat deluxe—in fact, he hardly said anything since the fight. Now his friends were legitimately worried.

"BB? You okay, man?"

"Wha? Oh yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You've hardly said a word, although that's not a complete problem" muttered Raven. Beast Boy just glared.

"Seriously, Beast Boy. What's up? Is something wrong?" Robin knew his teammates well, and knew something was definitely wrong with Beast Boy.

"No, I'm fine. I told you before, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong!" Beast Boy sounded more like he was convincing himself than the others.

Starfire had a puzzled look on her face. "Beast Boy," she began, "who is this April Fool that the burglar spoke of?"

"Uhh…" How could he explain to them? How could he bring up his past to them? Right here? Right now? He couldn't bear the memories. _Just put on a smile, Beast Boy_, he thought to himself, _and they might not suspect anything._ With a grin plastered on his face, Beast Boy looked up. "Well Starfire, you'll just have to wait 'till tomorrow to find out!" With that, he turned into an eagle and flew off to Titan's Tower.

"Oh no…Robin!"

"What, Cyborg?"

Cyborg had a horrified look on his face. "Tomorrow's April Fool's Day!"

"…Umm yeah, I know…" Robin sounded as confused as Starfire looked. Raven just looked bored as usual.

"Man, think! Tomorrow is April Fool's Day, and we live with a prankster!" He looked at Robin with a worried look on his face, hoping Robin would understand.

Thankfully, he did.

"Titans! Back to Titan's Tower! Immediately!" Robin and Cyborg rushed off to the T-Car, leaving a very puzzled Starfire to look at Raven questioningly.

"We'll explain later."


	4. April Fool's Day Part 1

**April Fool's Day; Part 1**

Beast Boy stood alone on the roof, watching the sun rise. He had stayed up all last night, preparing for this day. He let out a sigh—this was his least favorite day out of the whole year—April Fool's Day. It was ironic, really, that the one day that Beast Boy should greatly excel his friends was already set aside for sorrow. Usually he was open with his friends about almost everything—except this one event in his life he wish had never happened. April Fool's Day should be a day of laughing and joking with your friends, and seeing who can pull off the best prank. By the end of the day, there were no hard feelings; just a stomachache from laughing so hard for so long.

But Beast Boy would not be laughing today.

He could hear his friends moving about downstairs as they all woke up. He already knew what they planned to do today—they would try to prank _him_, for he was always besting them, and now they had a full day to try it themselves; _on him_. But he wasn't going to try to avoid them—he actually wouldn't be spending much time around them today, for he wanted to be alone. He just couldn't bear to let his friends in on his pain—he couldn't bring himself to include them and make them hurt the way he was. He would just play it cool today, putting on an air of elusiveness. Today was his day for mourning. Taking a breath, he steeled himself for the day ahead.

* * *

The futuristic sliding doors opened for Beast Boy as he walked into the common room. Here his friends were preparing their individual breakfasts, and he was greeted by the smells of waffles, coffee and herbal tea. Usually he would smile and crack some tofu-waffle joke, but not today.

"Morning, BB."

Beast Boy just nodded at Cyborg with a small smile as he got some orange juice from the fridge. He knew his friends were grinning to each other behind his back—he wasn't stupid. He knew that they would be seeking revenge against his pranks today, so he would just grin and bear it, for he couldn't spoil their fun. Beast Boy really loved his friends, and liked to try to make them laugh and put smiles on their faces, but he could not bring himself to be his usual chipper self today. His plan was to keep out of sight most of the day—the more he was out of sight, the more likely he wouldn't fall into any of the pranks, and the less likely his friends wouldn't find out about his sorrow. He finished his juice then turned to his friends.

"I'm going to have to leave for a bit. I need to go get something." _Just say okay, just let me go_, he pleaded silently.

The other four shared skeptical looks between them before Robin asked "What do you need to get? Do you want one of us to come with you?"

Beast Boy shook his head. He didn't want anyone to accompany him; he just wanted to be alone. "No, I need to go myself. And I'm getting wood." He almost laughed to himself as to what their reactions might be. Almost.

Cyborg certainly wasn't fooled. What could Beast Boy possibly need with wood? What type of extreme prank was it this time? Cyborg just peered closely at his green friend, trying to decipher the plan that was hatching inside that little green head. All he could find was a sort of wistfulness in Beast Boy's eyes, a kind of sadness mixed with longing. _Probably just putting on the puppy-dog look_, he thought, _but it's time to flush out this plan of his._

"C'mon BB—wood?"

"Yep. It's a project of mine." There was no way on Earth that Beast Boy could have missed the meaning of Raven's raised eyebrow. There was no way that they would or could believe him. "I'm serious, guys." _Just let me go_. Much to his surprise, Robin saved him.

"Go ahead. We'll call you on your communicator if anything comes up."

Beast Boy let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Thanks," he said as he ran out of the common room. As he vanished Cyborg turned to Robin—"Man, now's our chance—let's go in his room and do some snooping. Maybe we'll be able to find the blueprints to his pranks! Ha!" With that Cyborg rushed off in the direction of Beast Boy's room, with a giggling Starfire floating right behind him. When the four got to his room, they were expecting to find complex contraptions of silliness and practical joking, but admittedly none of the expected to find what they did—nothing. Beast Boy's room was exactly as it had been any other day: messy and disorganized. Raven was the first to speak—"He's good at hiding things."

* * *

As an eagle, Beast Boy flew to the Jump City State Forest. He flew among the giant trees, searching for the right one. He flew until he found a sizable log that lay on the ground next to a large, sturdy oak. Morphing into a wood pecker, he tested the wood for soundness. Find it satisfactory, he morphed into a beaver and began to chew away. Once he had cut off a section of it—about two and half feet long by one foot—he changed into a pterodactyl, grasped the wood in his claws and flew back to Titan's Tower.

"Has friend Beast Boy returned?"

Raven grumbled. Starfire had been asking Raven this question once every five minutes for the past half hour, and Robin was off with Cyborg at the moment snooping around the tower for any sign of a prank. Starfire was getting quite wearisome; no amount of meditating would change that. But then again, almost everything Starfire did annoyed Raven in some way or another. "No," was her curt reply.

"Oh. When do you think he will return?"

Just then, Cyborg and Robin burst into the common room, saving the irritated Raven of another reply. "Yo! BB just got back with a piece of wood and went straight to the garage! And he asked to borrow my power tools!" Raven rolled her eyes—although she too wished sweet revenge against Beast Boy, she thought that Cyborg was too consumed with the green elf's plots to be considered sane. "Cyborg," she stated, "it's not as if any of Beast Boy's past pranks have been completely outrageous; they've just been stupid." But Cyborg would not be convinced.

"It's obvious Beast Boy is up to something—something epic, and I'm not about to underestimate his prankster abilities" said a thoughtful Cyborg. He and Robin sat down on the couch and contemplated the possible pranks involving wood, but came up short. Suddenly Robin got up and got on the Titan's computer. He pulled up the security cameras of the garage. Sure enough, there was Beast Boy working away at the piece of wood with a power saw. He turned to Cyborg with a grin on his face. "I think we may be able to find out."

Cyborg, Starfire and Raven got up and sat next to Robin, and four pairs of eyes watched the screen intensely. Unfortunately, none of them could make head nor tail of Beast Boy's intentions. It was Starfire who first voiced her puzzlement; "Why does Beast Boy not transform into any animal and carve the wood himself?" They all looked one another for an answer, but none could find one. They could only watch the screen as Beast Boy worked around the block of wood. The camera could not pick up the detail of the block—all they could see of it was a small blur that Beast Boy hovered around, shaving this, carving that. Two hours slipped away as they four watched the one work, until the working one finally straightened up and stretched. He proceeded to clean up his workspace, then picked up his object and carried it away. It took a minute for the others to realize that their investigation had come to an end before they stretched themselves. It was late afternoon.

"Alright, ya'll—I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for Beast Boy to pull it—uhh, whatever 'it' is—off on us. I say we take the offensive and prank him here and now!" Cyborg started for the door, but Robin called him back.

"Wait, Cyborg. We need to devise a plan; we can't just blunder into this because Beast Boy is smarter than we are at practical jokes" Robin said, pacing by the couch.

"What should we do?" queried Raven.

After a moment of thought, Cyborg exclaimed "I got it!" They huddled close together as Cyborg told them the plan…

* * *

"Is everything ready?"

"Yeah—Raven and Star are in position." Robin and Cyborg were hidden in the hall outside Beast Boy's room. The team of four had set up a system of pranks that were seemingly foolproof, and all were currently hidden in key locations in the Tower where the pranks were set up. The plan was quite simple; it was a chain of events, all triggered when Beast Boy would leave his room and walked across a thin piece of wire. The wire would then open a box full of Robin's exploding smoke balls, releasing a thick fog that would surround Beast Boy. Cyborg would then release a blast from his sonic cannon, which would push Beast Boy into a net. The net would be hoisted by a system of pulleys, and the inside had been smeared with grease and chicken feathers. Starfire would be hiding around the corner and at the opportune moment when Beast Boy was suspended would shoot a starbolt at the net. The net would release Beast Boy, where Raven would then grab him with a black tendril and fling him against a giant padded target on the wall, and from there he would drop onto a fluffy mattress, covered in feathers.

It may seem that this prank was a little too physical, and there was the possibility that someone could get hurt. But the Titans in all their enthusiasm didn't stop to think of the consequences—they wanted to go all out in their ultimate prank. It would provide the revenge that they thirsted for. After all, what could go wrong?

It was a tragic mistake in the making. They underestimated the power of their trap, and a semi-unsuspecting Beast Boy was about to leave his room.


	5. April Fool's Day Part 2

**April Fool's Day Part 2**

_Please remember that everything that follows of Beast Boy's history is completely false! I do not own the Teen Titans or DC Comics!_

It was perfect. It was a small sailboat with a hollow hull, about one and a half feet long and about ten inches wide. There was one mast towards the bow with a cloth sail, and the sides were sanded and polished until they shone and were silk to the touch. All of Beast Boy's heart and soul were put into this small vessel, for it would carry his heart across the ocean.

It was a memorial sailboat. Back in his home, a small African village in the grasslands of Kenya, a village-wide memorial service would be held. The family of the deceased would carve out a sailboat from a tree. They would hollow out the hull where they would place a few trinkets of the deceased, as well as a handmade bracelet for a happy afterlife. At night the boat would be launched into the river, complete with a small candle. The village would hold a feast in memorial of the deceased afterwards.

It was on this day that Beast Boy lost the three people closest to him. His father, mother, and eight year-old sister were killed on April 1st. Beast Boy was only eleven years old at the time, and he was known as Garfield Logan. He had His father, Steve Logan, was an animal researcher who studied the behaviors of African wildlife. His wife, Kathy, assisted him. Steve would often take Garfield, or Gar as he was called by his villager-friends, with him on expeditions. Here Garfield learned much of his knowledge about the animal kingdom. His sister, Sara, was always the life of the party. Garfield could always make her laugh, which is where he got his comedic start. His family and friends were all that he needed for a happy life, but everything changed on April 1st.

* * *

_Flashback_

Before we explore what happened that day, we must investigate another important person that also was a part of the same village as Garfield Logan. A genetics expert, Dr. Sterling, had been at the village for about a year, and worked with Steve Logan on studying animals. It was rumored that he practiced genetic modification on animals in his laboratory. This man was tall and had striking silver hair and a silver moustache. He often participated in hunts—his favorite pastime. The Logans didn't agree with his methods for fun; when quoted in the local newspaper, Sterling had said "I only participate in the hunt for the ultimate challenge. The harder the game, the more enjoyable it is." As the months passed in the village, Sterling watched Garfield's interactions with both animals and people. He took note of Garfield's physical ability—lean, fast and rather strong for his size. At that same time he was experimenting with human and animal genetics, trying to combine them—but he needed a test subject. Immediately, Garfield Logan came to his mind as the perfect body to test it on. The only problem was how to get the boy away from his parents.

Over the course of the next few nights, Dr. Sterling devised an evil plan. He thought that the only way to get to Garfield was to remove his family, the only people standing between him and his success in combing genetic codes. Although Steve and Kathy Logan were coworkers, he felt no emotional attachment to them—in fact, he had no social relationship with anyone. He planned a way to remove them and get Garfield without attracting the attention of the village authorities. The next day, he put his plan into action.

* * *

The Logans were packed and ready to go on a small voyage down the river in their compact eighteen-foot boat. They would be journeying down the river and camping for a few days while studying the movement of a zebra herd. Naturally, Garfield and Sara would be coming as well. The first few days went without fault, and Garfield and Sara were having a blast. The last day of their voyage before they had to turn back brought them to a towering waterfall. There was a dock that had been built on one side of the river, where they had to tie up before heading back. Suddenly they heard a shout of "Hello!" It was Dr. Sterling. He was coming out the brush and walking towards them.

"Why, if it isn't the lovely Logan family!" he said. Although his parents considered him a family friend, there was something about him Garfield couldn't quite trust. It might have been his eyes—a blue so deep they seemed to x-ray your insides. This man usually treated Garfield like an insolent child, but lately he had been watching Garfield more and more, the intensity increasing with every passing day; it was starting to creep him out. Then Dr. Sterling spoke again—"I happened to be venturing down this way when I spotted a lioness with three cubs lying in the shade, and I really want Garfield to see this." He then x-rayed Garfield; so much that Garfield wished his father would say no. But this was not the case.

"That's great! Of course he can go! Go on, Gar," he added with a smile. Garfield just grumbled, got out of the boat, and followed Dr. Sterling into the brush. "Bye, Gar!" Sara shouted. With a smile Garfield turned and waved to his family. "Come on, boy," Sterling said harshly, and once they were out of sight and earshot of the boat he seized Garfield's arm and held on tight. Now Garfield was confused when he saw instead of lions a safari jeep. Sterling opened the door to the backseat, where a steel cage had been outfitted. He forced Garfield inside, and slammed the door shut. Walking calmly around to the driver's seat, he got in as if nothing had happened out of the ordinary. This whole time, Garfield's instincts told him that this already bad situation was going to get worse. He kicked and fought, trying desperately to get away. He couldn't hit Sterling from inside the cage. Then the man, the evil man in Garfield's eyes, turned and spoke to Garfield with venom in his voice.

"Say goodbye to your family, my dear boy."

With that he revealed a small controller from his pocket and pressed a button. On the screen there appeared a countdown from five. Sterling turned to look out the window, and Garfield followed his gaze. He gasped when he saw that their spot could clearly see the boat and the waterfall.

5…4…3…2…1…0

Nothing happened.

Garfield couldn't tear his eyes away; although he didn't understand why nothing happened, he was grateful that nothing did. Sterling just smiled and said, "Watch." Suddenly, Garfield saw a splash of water and his father running to the helm and trying to work the controls. The boat started to accelerate towards the waterfall, straining against the ropes holding it to the dock. Steve was pulling back on the throttle as hard as he could, but to no avail. His mother and sister were holding tight to each other. Time seemed to slow down for Garfield as he watched the rope break. He watched as the boat accelerated to its doom and the doom of its passengers. He let out a horrified scream as he watched his family disappear over the waterfall.

* * *

Beast Boy had created a bracelet that represented his entire family on his own time, but the only trinkets he had managed to salvage from his house and carry with him were a couple photos of his family and a scrapbook that he had received for his tenth birthday. The scrapbook stored photos of his adventures with family and friends from his life in Africa, and it was his most prized possession. Cradling the fragile sailboat in his arms, he gathered his belongings and left his room to head to the shore.

* * *

Nothing mattered anymore. He had lost track of time and feeling. Currently he was locked inside a small cage in Sterling's laboratory, but he had no energy or motivation to try and find an escape. He couldn't erase the image of his family disappearing over the waterfall—the terrified faces of his father, mother and sister. He heard Sterling tell one of his assistants that the authorities had not found any traces of the bodies; just broken fragments from the boat. Every time Garfield saw Dr. Sterling, a blinding rage built up inside of him, the pressure threatening to burst forth from his body. He never wanted to hurt someone so badly as he wanted to hurt Sterling for what he had done to his family, to his life. But all he could do was sit and watch as Sterling fiddled with various instruments and tools.

"I bet you're wondering what I brought you here for," Sterling started casually. He was measuring out a clear fluid inside a syringe. "I'll be frank with you—I need you for an experiment I'm conducting."

"What kind of experiment?" Garfield growled.

Sterling slowly turned to look down at him. "I am researching a compound of human and animal DNA. In this syringe I have prepared a solution that will hopefully change your DNA to cooperate with animal DNA. Understand?"

"Why do you need me?"

"Well, you are the most physically capable to handle large amounts of stress in this dirty village. You are quick, strong and have a wealthy knowledge of the animal kingdom. My hopes for this experiment are that you can assist me in my studies as a sort of super-human. You can give me both knowledge and power in the scientific world that nobody else has!" Sterling had a manic gleam in his eye.

But there was one question that burned Garfield's insides. "Why did you kill my family?" He was shaking from the pent-up rage.

At this an evil grin spread across Sterling's face. "Why, my dear boy, because they were in my way of getting to you. I couldn't experiment on you with them still alive because they would raise suspicion about me; they might even have me arrested for kidnapping and human experimentation. But all is well; you will learn to accept me as your new master soon enough."

Garfield couldn't take it anymore. He was shaking, the blood was pounding in his ears. He leapt at Sterling, rocking the cage so much it tipped over onto its side. Sterling stood just out of reach of the youth's desperate hands with a malicious grin on his face. He appeared to come to some conclusion, for he announced to the laboratory "It's time!"

On cue, two assistants in white lab coats came into the laboratory. The three scientists put on gloves and masks, then one took up a small pistol. Garfield was still thrashing when he heard a small popping noise and felt a prick on his right shoulder. He looked down to find a fluffy pink dart. Instantaneously his limbs grew heavy and stiff, but he didn't lose consciousness. It was a special tranquilizing formula—it froze the victim until they couldn't move, but were still conscious. The assistant picked up Garfield and lay him down on a metal table, stretching out his limbs until he was horizontal. The two assistants started to buckle Garfield to the table, so tight that if he were free to move he couldn't. All the while Dr. Sterling was doing some last minute calculations on a computer. Finally, all was ready.

"Well Garfield Logan, it is time to say goodbye to your past life, and start afresh with me!" With this exclamation Dr. Sterling plunged the syringe into Garfield.

Immediately there was pain. It was as if Garfield could literally feel his DNA being ripped apart. He shut his eyes and screamed in agony. Although he was unmoving on the outside, his insides were in turmoil, and his heart rate was off the charts. For another minute this continued, until Garfield could sense the pain starting to slowly ebb. As it did, he felt his body begin to change. Smells of the lab became more pungent. He could hear his heartbeat like never before—it sounded like a wildebeest stampede right next to his ear. His ear twitched, allowing him discover he had pointed ears now. Something poked his tongue—with a jolt he realized he had fangs. The serum was working. The pain finally faded until it was a dull throb, and the tranquilizer had started wearing off. He dared to open his eyes, and yelled in shock.

He was green.

His entire body was green—he was almost sick at the sight. How could one be so unnatural? He couldn't fathom the extent of his deformity. With a dull thump his head hit the table. Garfield had passed out.

Sterling examined Garfield Logan closely. The green coloring was just a side effect, nothing to worry about. There were the enlarged canines and pointed ears, sure signs that the serum had succeeded. He was hardly surprised, for Sterling _always_ succeeded. Now with a transformed Logan under his command, Sterling would rise to the top of the science world.

* * *

A week had passed. Garfield had recovered and slowly—_very slowly_—gotten used to his green skin and sharpened senses. With help from Sterling, he learned he could transform into any animal he desired. Being Garfield Logan, he saw this as positive—since he was green, he might as well have powers to go along. The only thing that allowed him to function and embrace all the new power he held was the memory of his family. He would wake up in tears and know that he was sobbing again at night as he remembered their times together. It was their memory that motivated him to embrace the past and move forward, to keep pushing ahead. But with these feelings came another, darker one. Hate. He couldn't think of anyone he hated more than he hated Dr. Sterling. It was Dr. Sterling that took away his family. It was Dr. Sterling who disfigured him. Garfield knew he could no longer return to the village, for he would surely be shunned or would spread fear through the village about a wild green creature with human form. Dr. Sterling had destroyed his life.

At the end of a training session one afternoon, Garfield was exhausted. Sterling had forced him to morph into hundreds of different animals, one right after the other, in order to test the Garfield's extent of knowledge of the different species. Of course, all were green. Garfield felt physically and mentally spent, but Sterling seemed rather satisfied with his progress. But the time to stop this madness was now, as Garfield explained to himself. He would make a break for it and run. Where? He wasn't quite sure, but anywhere far from the laboratory was good enough for him. But how? His answer came to him that night at his usual lock-up time. Every night Sterling himself locked up Garfield in a cage—it wasn't a small cage, but it was a cage nonetheless. The space between the bars was rather small, but Sterling didn't expect Garfield to know how to transform into something so small as to squeeze in between them. But Sterling made the crucial mistake that would come to haunt Garfield for the rest of his life—he underestimated Garfield's power. After a few tries that night, Garfield succeeded in morphing into a fly, giving him plenty of room to buzz in between the bars. He morphed into a cat, and with his keen eyesight, picked his way out of the lab. But he didn't leave without sending off a proper goodbye to the man who had ruined his life. Locating the gas source for the lab and the matches, Garfield went to work.

Five minutes later, he stood atop a nearby hill and watched with contempt as the laboratory was engulfed in towering orange flames and billowing black smoke so thick it blocked out the moon and stars. He wasn't worried about hurting anyone, for Sterling and his assistants lived in a separate house a small distance from the lab. With his heightened hearing he could hear the cries of shock from the assistants and the scream of rage from Sterling, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Wanting nothing more to do with the insufferable hell-hole, Garfield turned and flew away into the night.

And the rest is history.

As Sterling watched his life's work go up in smoke, a burning intensity to hurt something rose up within him. That something was Garfield Logan. The boy would pay for what he had done and the damages he had cost Sterling. He would pay, no matter the cost.

* * *

Beast Boy slowly walked out of his room, and too focused on the soul in his arms, didn't notice that he tripped the wire…


	6. April Fool's Day Part 3

**April Fool's Day: Part 3**

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've been busy with school and sports, and I bet you can make an easy prediction on what is to happen in this next chapter, but what can I say--it's a key part of my story! I love all your reviews! Thanks!

On with the show!

* * *

Robin and Cyborg held their breath as Beast Boy walked out of his room and tripped the wire. Starfire and Raven were ready in their positions. There was an ominous pause, then a flash of light and smoke accompanied by a loud BANG, as well as a startled yell from Beast Boy. Cyborg took aim at Beast Boy through the smoke. He wasn't worried about hurting him for he had set his sonic cannon at a low level, so he fired at the coughing, spluttering shape that was the changeling. His aim was true, and sure enough Beast Boy was sent flying backwards. This whole time, Beast Boy had kept an instinctively tight grip on the sailboat and his other possessions, trying everything in his power to keep them safe. To his confusion he landed in a net smeared with grease and (to his disgust) chicken feathers. Before he had any time to react, the net was automatically hoisted up to the ceiling. There was a moment of pause as Beast Boy watched the smoke dissipate, clutching the still intact sailboat, bracelet and scrapbook to his chest, trying to protect them from any damage from the grease and chicken feathers he was plastered in. _BAM!_ A starbolt had come flying around the corner and hit Beast Boy full on, breaking the net and sending him once again flying through the air. He couldn't turn into a bird because he couldn't carry all his things, so he would have to roll to break his fall. But at the last moment, a black hand emerged from the wall and grabbed Beast Boy's ankle, leaving him suspended for a brief moment before throwing him across the hall, a few feathers floating behind him. Beast Boy barely had enough time to register that he was going to hit a target on the wall, and braced for impact. He slammed into the wall and fell to the ground, and heard as well as felt a sickening crack.

Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven could barely suppress their laughter as they watched Beast Boy fly through the air as a mock chicken. They heard a smack as Beast Boy hit the target, but then the sickening crack. This put a pause in their laughter, but they brushed it aside. They emerged from their hiding spots and walked towards their green friend. Beast Boy was on his hands and knees, hunched over a particular spot on the floor.

"Man, BB, you should have seen yourself as you went flying! Ha! You were like, 'Aah!' and then 'SMACK' and…" Cyborg doubled over in laughter as the rest succumbed to the giggles.

Beast Boy could feel pressure behind his eyes as he restrained his tears that were threatening to burst forth. When he had hit the wall, he had lost grip of his possessions, and as the sailboat fell to the floor his body followed and crushed it. He stared at the scattered splinters and torn sails with disbelief. Blood began to pound in his ears, and he distantly heard his friends laughing, and probably at him. At this he grew angry, for it was their stupid prank that had caused this—it was their prank that resulted in his heart lying in splinters on the floor. The scrapbook and bracelet were fully intact, but nothing seemed to matter without the sailboat that he had spent so much time perfecting. Although Beast Boy knew that his friends were just kidding around and that they were ignorant to his past, he couldn't help but be enraged. A long, low growl was ripped from his throat.

They all heard him growl, and immediately stopped laughing. Beast Boy hardly ever growled at them, so there was no mistake he was furious. This growl made them all take an involuntary step back from the anger in it. Being the leader, Robin back stepped forward.

"Easy Beast Boy, calm down. Maybe we went a little too far with this prank," he said.

Beast Boy whirled around to face his friends, and positioned his body so that he was crouching over the sailboat protectively. His eyes were full of anger and sadness as another growl sounded. The rest of the Titans looked underneath him and gasped as they saw the remains of the sailboat.

"Oh friend Beast Boy, we are very sorry for the damage we have caused your miniature water vessel!" Starfire cried out with small tears forming in her emerald eyes.

"Oops," said Raven, trying not to let Sorrow and Regret overrun her calm demeanor.

"Yeah BB, it was just a harmless prank. We didn't intend any harm," reasoned Cyborg. He knew when his green friend was upset, and he knew that Beast Boy was already past upset.

It was tearing Robin apart that a fellow Titan and friend was so angry and sad because of their idea of fun. "Beast Boy, we are all sorry—we didn't know that you had that in your hands and that it obviously means so much to you. We thought it was _your_ prank to get back at us. Please don't be too mad at us." He took another step towards Beast Boy and made a move to lay a hand on his shoulder, but Beast Boy lashed out and smacked his hand away. Robin stumbled back to the others and all stared as they couldn't believe what Beast Boy had just done.

Beast Boy struggled to keep his voice even. "Don't come near me," he growled. "I don't want or need any of you right now, so just leave me alone." He was trying so hard to keep from shouting and hitting things and transforming. If he transformed he would most likely lose it, so he decided not to risk it.

"But Beast Boy—"

He snapped. "Shut up! You have no idea what I've been going through today! And don't even try to get me to explain because this is MY personal history, so just LEAVE ME ALONE!" With that outburst he gathered the splinters, scrapbook and bracelet in his arms and marched off towards his room. The rest could only stare at his back in shame.

* * *

It was 10:00 that night, and Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven had not left their spots in the common room for a few hours. They were all ashamed at what they had done to anger Beast Boy. At the time, Raven could feel the rage and sorrow run off Beast Boy in enormous waves, and desperately wished she could do something to help him. But they couldn't think of anything to do to help or make it up to him. After what seemed like a year, Starfire spoke, her voice hoarse from disuse.

"Friends, I have never seen Beast Boy act so…strange before. Please tell me; why did he yell at us?"

"Because he was furious." Robin answered quietly.

"But why was he so mad?" asked Cyborg softly.

"I guess that sailboat meant a lot to him. More than we thought."

"But why did that sailboat mean anything to him at all?" Raven countered. "We know he has been working on it most of the day, and it obviously has a deeper value to him, but why?"

"Remember what he said? About how he didn't want to explain anything? Maybe that has something to do with this whole mess," thought Robin.

Starfire sighed. "Oh, I thought that this Day of April Fool's was supposed to be happy and joyous and full of laughter, but I feel terrible," she said miserably.

"Well," started Cyborg, "he didn't exactly _have _to blow up at us. Like Robin said, the boat obviously meant something to BB, but he should have known that we don't know what he knows! If that makes any sense…"

"No Cyborg, it does," agreed Robin. He started pacing. "Beast Boy acted out of line. He is mature enough to keep his temper, so he shouldn't have gotten mad at us at something we didn't know."

Now Raven joined in. "Yes, he overreacted. We were just setting up a harmless prank, and he happened to fall for it, and he paid the price. He shouldn't have been carrying that fragile sailboat around anyways."

"Yes! Yes! _He_ made us feel terrible on a day of laughter!" Starfire declared.

The mood in the common room had changed. The Titans, out of shame and regret, were starting to twist the situation in their heads as an escape. By blaming Beast Boy for his reactions, they felt better about what they had done. There was an almost frantic, desperate agreement that Beast Boy was in the wrong—it was eating them up fast.

"I think we should go tell Beast Boy about our discussion," suggested Starfire.

Three vehement "No!" answered her.

"We can't. He would probably just get mad at us again, and an angry Beast Boy equals a major headache," retorted Raven.

"Yeah, I don't want him blowing up in our faces again 'cause that is A) rude and B) annoying!" said Cyborg.

"I think, Starfire," replied Robin, "that we just need to leave Beast Boy alone for a while. He's still mad, and we know he will be mad for a few days. I'm starting to think about leaving him in the Tower if anything comes up…" He started pacing again. "That way his anger can't force out a mistake that could cost us a criminal."

Starfire was now convinced. The Titans settled down for a delicious late evening snack without their green comrade. From that time until they went bed, they talked about anything and everything good friends would talk about and played the GameStation and cooked more food and meditated. Their minds were at ease when forgetting the misery of their friend.

* * *

Beast Boy couldn't believe it.

This day was going horribly wrong. First of all, the sailboat was shattered and beyond repair. He spent the last few hours in his room calming down and ridding himself of the grease and feathers, for he knew he shouldn't have yelled at his friends like he did. When he was ready to apologize he left his room and went to the common room, but stopped just short of the door when he heard voices. His enhanced hearing could pick up their conversation from a weak point in the wall, so he settled down to listen. He had heard everything after Cyborg's second statement.

He considered barging in there and giving his friends the whole I-have-feelings-too speech and even revealing his past, but that was out of the question now. He ran back to his room and locked the door. Breathing hard, he grabbed an old backpack from his closet.

"Fine, if they don't want me around anyway…fine!" he shouted as he grabbed random items from his room and shove them into his bag. He stopped when he realized that all the items wouldn't be necessary for someone like him. He decided to pack only essentials, for even though he would be leaving for who knows how long, he could take of himself. He _would_ take care of himself just in spite of his "friends".

He took the remains of the sailboat and placed them in a small cloth bag. He would not be taking them along with him because they would hinder him, so with a somber finality he set the down upon his bed. The only items he decided on taking were the scrapbook and the memorial bracelet; the only items he really ever cared about. He decided to tidy up his room, for he couldn't quite separate himself from his home yet; he needed to busy himself for the time being.

But the time came when he could do more to prolong the deed. He took one last look around his home before reaching to his belt and removing his Teen Titan communicator. He gazed at it in sadness for a moment before setting it on his bed next to the bag of splinters. He opened his window and transformed into an eagle, grasping his bag in his talons, all before his tears could spill over from his eyes. Beast Boy flew off into the night in the direction of Jump City, where he would find a park or forest to spend the night.

* * *

Sorry this chapter was a little shorter, but I need to cut it off here! Stay tuned!


	7. Gone

A/N: Chapter 7 already! I just want to point out that yes, the Titan's reaction was very unlike themselves, BUT(!!) that was planned!! Don't worry though, they'll come 'round in this chapter ;) And please, please remember that I do not own the Teen Titans! Thanks!

**Gone**

The next morning the Titan's woke to a glorious, cloud-free day, just the perfect weather for morning combat practice. Each would go through the rigorous obstacle course filled with multiple dangers all against the clock. Eventually, all had gone through the course, except one.

"Beast Boy, your turn!" said Robin.

A silence answered back. The Titan's looked around themselves for a hint of their green comrade, but to no avail.

"Beast Boy?"

"Did BB ever come down to breakfast?" asked Cyborg.

Starfire shook her head. "No, he did not. I believe he is still asleep, as he usually is on mornings."

"Well then," replied Raven, "someone should go wake him up. And it won't be me," she added as a second thought. Robin turned to Starfire, "Will you go wake him up?"

"Oh yes, I wish to be the first to wish him a morning of good!"

Robin was not in as cheery a mood, however—"Why does he do this? He knows we have morning combat practice today; he should be here!" He pounded his fist in frustration.

As usual, Starfire soothed her leader. "Do not worry, friend Robin. I am sure his clock of alarming noises simply forgot to go off! I will go awaken him now," and with that she turned and flew towards Beast Boy's window, for that would be faster than going through the Tower. The rest simply watched her disappear.

When Starfire got to Beast Boy's window, she was almost certain she had found the wrong room. She even flew to the other windows to be sure. But alas, this was the window to Beast Boy's room. She wasn't too shocked about the open window—Beast Boy did that quite a lot to let in a fresh breeze from the sea. It was what was beyond the open window, inside Beast Boy's room that shocked her. She was motionless for a few moments, hovering in the sunlight, before she reached to her belt and grabbed her communicator.

"Friends! Alarm!"

The other three Titans back at the training grounds gathered around Robin's communicator as Starfire called back to them.

"What is it, Starfire?" Robin asked, concerned. She looked very distraught.

"Just come quick! Please, please hurry!" she cried into her communicator.

"Raven!" Robin called, but Raven did not need telling twice as she conjured a black disk with her magic for Robin, Cyborg and herself to glide upon. They shot up to where Starfire was hovering, gliding to a stop outside the open window. At first, they couldn't see the source of Starfire's anguish, but at motion from Robin, they all landed inside Beast Boy's room. It was as if they had stepped onto another planet.

His room was clean.

"Whoa," whistled Cyborg, "something is definitely wrong here."

"No kidding," retorted Raven, pointing at Beast Boy's bed. They all rushed to spot she was indicating. There on the bed lay Beast Boy's communicator. A few moments of shocked silence filled the room, until Robin slowly picked up the communicator and stared at it. None needed a clue as to what the lonely communicator meant, but they could not accept it. Cyborg was muttering to himself.

"Couldn't have…must be joking…he wouldn't…"

Raven shook herself as she fought to keep Shock, Confusion and Sadness under control. This was not the time to panic. Starfire looked as downcast as she felt, though. Now Cyborg was asking the questions everybody was asking themselves yet did not want to hear out loud.

"Is he gone? Why did he leave us? Did we do something to cause this?"

…

"Is he really gone?"

Robin could not take his masked eyes off the communicator his teammate had left behind. It tore him apart that one of their own had voluntarily left, especially since he was responsible for each of them as he was the leader of the Teen Titans. But they weren't the Teen Titans without Beast Boy. The feelings of helplessness and despair were only made worse when he discovered that he knew the answers to each of Cyborg's questions. With great difficulty he faced his friends, steeling himself to tell them his theory. Problem was, his theories were usually correct.

"Yes, I believe Beast Boy has left us," he said, dropping the hand holding the communicator to his side and choosing to stare at the opposite wall instead. Starfire and Raven gasped and stood closer to each for comfort, and Cyborg's large shoulders dropped as he asked "But _why _did he leave us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Robin said. "It was the prank. We knew it made him angry, but we didn't take note of his reaction like we should have. We didn't stop and think about the damage—both physical and emotional—we did to him…" He trailed off as the memories showed themselves. He took a moment to gather himself before continuing, "And we underestimated his anger and grief. Therefore, we must find him and we must set things right."

Now they had a ray of hope, for apologizing to Beast Boy might amend the mess they had foolishly created. Robin's eyebrows drew together as he frowned beneath his mask, the gears in his brain turning as they thought of a plan of action. An idea struck him and he turned to his team to see three eager faces peering intensely at him, waiting for a command.

"Okay Titans, we will go into the city and split up, looking first in Beast Boy's usual hangouts, then spreading out from there. If we are unsuccessful, we will meet back up together and formulate another plan. Got it?"

They all nodded, eager to be off in search of their green friend.

"Titans, go!"

The Titans had split up to first look in Beast Boy's favorite places, then in separate quadrants of the city, but without success. Robin by R-Cycle, Cyborg by T-Car, and Raven and Starfire by air looked in every possible place a shapeshifter might hide in. Cyborg scoured the city with his scanners and radar, but Beast Boy did not show up on any of his maps. Empty-handed and spirits down, they all met at Town Hall a few hours later, where Robin gave their next instructions.

"Okay team, we couldn't find Beast Boy in the city, so let's extend our search outside of it. There are a couple places that he might be hiding in, but there is one place we all should search together, for if he's not there…"

"Where?" asked Raven.

"Jump City State Park."

As a wolf, Beast Boy lay down in a small cave in Jump City State Park. The State Park was an expanse of protected forests, where deer and other woodland creatures resided. Beast Boy always found this place tranquil and calming when he needed a moment alone. The cave was near the top of a grassy hill and overlooked the coast. From his position, Beast Boy could see various buildings twinkling in the twilight, but the glorious Titan's Tower shone like a beacon. Beast Boy whimpered. He missed his friends terribly and was sorry for snapping at them, but he couldn't face them just yet—his wounds were still too fresh. He kept his bag containing his scrapbook and bracelet close by him at all times, and currently it was resting against his belly. With memories of the good days of old swimming through his head, Beast Boy's eyes slowly closed as he fell into an uneasy slumber.

The Titans rested on a fallen log, aching and tired from their search. Even Robin had very nearly given up hope a few times, but they resolved to keep looking for Beast Boy. Besides, there was a silent agreement that returning to Titan's Tower would be turning their backs onto Beast Boy and giving up on him. After a brief respite, Robin stood and faced his team.

"Okay, so far we…" Movement behind the others caught his full attention. Five men dressed entirely in black were ascending a grassy hill, taking care to avoid a large cave in the hillside. Their suits made them look like blurs under the light of the moon. Three were positioned above the cave, while the other two placed themselves on either side of the opening. From there, they crouched in wait of their prey, whatever it was.

"Robin, what is it?" Cyborg saw his leader's focus become fully detached from them, so he followed Robin's gaze to the hill, as did Raven and Starfire. They turned back to Robin, and Starfire asked "What should we do?"

Robin thought for a moment before answering. "I have a hunch, so I think we should investigate what they're up to."

Cyborg caught on. "You don't mean…do you really think he could be up there?" He whispered this last part with uncertainty, yet with a glimmer of faith.

Robin turned to look down upon the half-teen-half-machine with confidence. "I do. Follow me!" He turned and ran to the hill, the others on his heels. He suddenly veered left and jumped behind a large boulder where the others followed. From there they watched the five men in secrecy.

Somebody was outside the cave. Beast Boy woke to the sound of grass shifting and hushed voices. He sniffed the air. There were five of them, but their smell was unfamiliar. He could smell objects as well, but he couldn't tell what they were. These men did not smell friendly, however, so the fur on Beast Boy's nape stood on end. He wasn't going to let these intruders hang around his den and disturb his sleep. Placing the bag in the corner of the cave, he cautiously walked to the entrance of the cave, stopped, and sniffed the air again, still hidden from outside view. The men were gone; at least, their scent was staler than a few moments before.

_Maybe they moved on,_ thought Beast Boy before a small capsule landed just inside the entrance to the cave. Curious, Beast Boy sniffed it, but jumped back as it released a white gas. Hero instincts kicking in, he kicked it and watched as it rolled down the hillside. Furious, he growled a challenge, for the men were definitely not gone, and they were definitely not friendly if they were trying to knock him out with gas. He edged to the front of the cave, eager for a fight to let loose his emotions over the past few days. Slowly, his head and shoulders emerged from the cave. That was a mistake. From his left and above him man pounced on him, tackling him to the ground. Beast Boy yelped as the trio rolled down the hill. The three other men followed behind, and one pulled out a large net from a backpack. As Beast Boy tumbled down the hill, he noticed that the men were all wearing the same black suits; just like the men who robbed the bank a few days ago. When they reached the bottom, Beast Boy shook off the two men, and whirled to face the others. Before he could do more than growl, the one with the net had enveloped him in the wire mesh, the thin wire cutting into his fur. Writhing and snarling, Beast Boy tried in vain to find an escape. The man holding the handle pushed a red button, and an electric shock traveled through the wire net.

Beast Boy howled in pain. There was so much of it. He fainted, fell onto his side, and resumed his human form. The electric current ceased as the button was released. The garbed men placed a metal collar around the changeling's neck and transferred him into a burlap sack. They turned to leave the forest, their mission complete.

"FREEZE!"

The Teen Titans burst from their hiding spot, having witnessed the entire scene. Their friend was trapped and in desperate need of their help, and they weren't about to let him slip away. The men in black, however, were not so willing to battle; one drew another capsule from his belt and threw it at the Titans. It burst, and black, acrid smoke billowed in front of them. Their eyes stung and watered as they crouched in wait for the smoke to clear. When it finally did a few moments later, Beast Boy and his kidnappers were nowhere in sight.

"Aagh!" The tree nearest Cyborg groaned and creaked as he punched it with all his anger. His friend was so close to them, yet they lost him. Again. Raven's voice distracted him from his thoughts.

"Did any of you notice that they looked familiar? They were the same ones who robbed the bank a few days ago and said the April Fool's comment. And look, they left tracks," she said, pointing a few feet away. Sure enough, there were five sets of footprints. By a consent that need not be spoken, they followed the footprints at a run.

After running for a couple minutes they were nearing the boundary of the park. Through the trees they could hear the sound of squealing tires as a car pulled away from the parking lot.

"Starfire! Fly ahead and see if you can catch that car! They must have Beast Boy inside!" commanded Robin. With a quick burst of speed Starfire shot over the trees as Robin, Cyborg and Raven stayed behind. When they finally reached the parking lot, they found Starfire hovering above the concrete, looking right and left for the missing car. There was only two other cars in the parking lot—a ranger's truck and a black van. When she heard her friends arrive, she turned and landed.

"Oh friends, it seems that the vehicle carrying Beast Boy got away before I could catch it," she said as she looked down at her feet. "There are tire tracks over there," she pointed to the lot entrance, "but they disappear further down the road. I am very sorry, but I cannot possibly distinguish which car he is in." She closed her eyes and a tear trickled down her cheek.

Robin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Starfire. We have a lead, that's for sure." He started pacing.

"I don't think we're alone," said Cyborg, looking at his arm. "My scanners say that there are three people inside that black van. Maybe they saw what the getaway car looked like."

Raven turned towards the car, summoning black tendrils of magic, her eyes glowing. "Then let's ask," she said as she used her powers to open the car doors, revealing three men inside. They were all wearing white lab coats and had black sunglasses. Before the Titans could do anything, they pulled out small tranquilizer guns and pointed them at the Titans.

"Wait!" shouted Robin. But the men took no notice, and fired. Each Titan fell to the ground, unconscious.

From their pockets the men drew four sets of handcuffs and locked each Titan's hands together behind their backs. Then they blindfolded and gagged the teen crime fighters with rags before tossing them unceremoniously in the back of the van. They all climbed inside the van and drove away, following the same path as the getaway car.

* * *

A/N: Good place to end, I think. Stay tuned for what happens next! Again :), thanks for all your reviews!


	8. The Game Begins

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long--I've been so busy! So let's get going! lol

* * *

**The Game Begins**

Robin was the first to awake. There was pain at his wrists as he rubbed them together, trying to get some feeling back into them from the bindings. His head pounded as whatever drugged him wore off, and his eyes were bleary as they adjusted to the dim lighting inside the van. Something didn't look right…

_Wait a minute…that's not the van—I'm blindfolded!_

It was rather ironic, Robin thought, blindfolding a masked person.

He could feel somebody on either side of him—the metal of Cyborg's arm and Starfire's soft skin. He shivered when the van turned and slightly pushed him into Starfire.

Before long, the van entered a tunnel, the noise of the engine reverberating off cement walls. Robin felt the van begin to slow, then come to a stop. A few men talked, then locks came undone before the sliding doors were pulled open. Someone grabbed his arms and carried him away from the van. Judging by the grunts from other men, they were hauling his friends behind him. Robin could only listen to his surroundings as he was half-dragged away.

After a few minutes of relative silence (other than the scrape of Cyborg's legs on the cement floor), Robin and the others were forced into metal chairs. Their hands were tied to the chair backs, and the gags and blindfolds removed. Robin had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes to the bright lighting. Once he could see, he noticed that although the room he was in was dark, it must have been very large; the fluorescent lighting did not show upon the opposite wall. The second thing he noticed was that there was a slight draft; another sign that the room was very large. He turned to his right, and to his relief he saw his friends beside him, unharmed, with the same bleary-eyed look as him. There were several men standing around them; men in white lab coats. Just as Robin opened his mouth to speak to his team, a voice interrupted him.

"I'm so glad to see you all could join me," a silvery voice said from the shadows. It was not one of the uniformed men.

"Who are you? Where are we? Why have you brought us here?" croaked Robin, his voice hoarse from disuse.

"Unfortunately, I can only answer two of those questions," said the voice. "As for your last question, my answer is this—I need you for this little plan I have. As for your first, you can call me Dr. Sterling." He emerged from Robin's left and stood in full view of all the Titans. He had on a similar lab coat to his assistants, but he was immediately distinguishable from his tall, lean stature and striking silver hair and his piercing eyes. He took a moment to x-ray each Titan before Raven spoke up.

"Why won't you tell us where we are?"

"Well, Raven—yes, I have done my research," he added at the Titans' shocked faces, "If I told you where you were, then you could easily find this place again and possibly disrupt my plans. I have watched you Titans fight for some time now, and I think I may have you all figured out…" He turned and walked to a long steel cart where there was a large, bulky object on it covered with a sheet. Sterling lifted the sheet and peered under it, nodded, and made a motion to an assistant, who nodded in turn and left the room.

Robin saw a loophole. "So you'll be letting us go?"

Sterling straightened up. "Why yes," he said. "It makes the game much more interesting if your opponents have some knowledge to their defense." The Titans could only look at each other in puzzlement.

Cyborg took this moment to ask the question at the back of everyone's mind: "Where's Beast Boy? Do you have him here?" he challenged.

Sterling smiled a sickly smile that made the hairs on the back of Robin's neck stand up in apprehension.

"Why yes, your dear friend _Beast Boy_ is here," he replied with a hint of pride, "and he's _so willingly _agreed to help me with my plan." He couldn't help but let a wicked chuckle escape his throat.

Shaking through her bonds, Raven's eyes glowed black as she shouted "What have you done to Beast Boy?!" Her voice echoed off distant walls.

Sterling walked until he stood directly in front of her, his eyes boring through her. "My dear, I have not done anything wrong. I have simply taken back what was, and still is, rightfully mine!" At this last part, a shadow passed over Sterling's face. He seemed to consider something for a moment, for he stood as still as a statue, an awful look upon his face. Then he whirled around to the steel cart and removed the sheet. Admittedly, the Titans were slightly confused; underneath the sheet lay the lower half of a dead cow.

Starfire turned to Robin in confusion and whispered "Please, Robin, is this some sort of new Earth torture? I thought humans ate dead cows." Her eyebrows came together as she frowned at the carcass.

"We do, Starfire, but nothing like that," was all Robin could reply.

"Oh I assure your, my dear, that this won't be for _you,_" said Sterling in an oily voice. He grasped the cart handles just as the assistant returned. He was holding two large handguns. The Titan's eyes went wide with fear. Sterling caught the looks on their faces, and smiled.

"Now, now, if I had wanted to kill you all, I would have done it a long time ago." With a parting sneer, he turned and wheeled the cart into the darkness opposite the Titans, the armed assistant behind him. As they were about to be swallowed up by blackness, a row of lights blinked on. They illuminated immense iron bars—at least twenty-five feet tall and eight feet in diameter. Now the Titans knew the size of their captivity—it was a large warehouse.

The lights did not illuminate anything past the bars, however. As Sterling and the assistant got closer to the bars, there was the sound of something moving, something large.

With amazing strength, Sterling hefted the carcass through the bars. He quickly retreated to his assistant, who gave him a handgun. Together, they raised the guns, pointed them through the bars, and waited.

The tension was so thick that a blunt knife could easily cut through it. The Titan's bodies were rigid with apprehension. Then, _CRACK!_

The cow's bones had been snapped.

What followed was unmistakably the sound of something eating the cow carcass. After two minutes, the noises ceased, only to be replaced by the…thing…moving away from the bars.

Lowering his handgun, Sterling withdrew a small flashlight from his pocket. He clicked it and pointed it at the spot on the floor where the cow had been placed. All that was left of the cow was a puddle of blood.

Satisfaction rolled off Sterling in waves. He returned the handgun to the assistant, who then left the room. As he walked away from the row of bars the lights blinked off. He washed the blood off his hands in a sink. When he turned back towards the Titans he found them still staring off towards the row of iron bars. He smiled to himself.

_Let the games formally begin._

"It is at this point in time that we must part. But before you leave, I give you a clue, for this most lovely game would not be as fun without it, so here it is: meet me at the old stadium downtown midnight tomorrow, and you shall see your friend again. Farewell…" Blindfolds and gags were forced over the Titans again, and the last they heard of Sterling was his manic laughter echoing off the walls, accompanied by an awful growl.

* * *

It was eight o' clock p.m. the next day. The day before, the Titans had been transported back to Titans Tower, where they freed themselves of their blindfolds and gags. From there they all went to the common room, where they had been sitting and staring out the large bay window, unmoving except to get something to eat or to use to restroom. It was only when the sun rose that they began talking. They talked about what they had observed in the building, the things Sterling had said about Beast Boy, and a lot about the creature behind the bars. It was Starfire who confirmed everyone's fears.

"It was Beast Boy, wasn't it?"

Robin had nodded, but none needed to investigate any further on the matter. Their instincts, both hero and friend, told them that the creature was Beast Boy.

Currently, they were silently sitting in the common room again, after showering and taking some morning naps. Each was off in his or her own thoughts. Robin was running through the two day's previous events in the forest. Suddenly, the vision of the cave sprang to his mind, and he sat upright so fast his back cracked. Beneath his mask his eyes grew wide with realization. Raven, Cyborg and Starfire turned to look at him with concern.

"Woah, man; you okay?"

"Yeah," Robin stood and began pacing, alerting the others that something was making the black-haired teen's brain whirl, so hey let him pace in peace until he organized his thoughts.

"Okay Titans," he said in the voice the foreshadowed a plan, "do you remember when Beast Boy as a wolf was captured in the state park?"

They all nodded.

"Well, I think we should investigate the cave. Beast Boy might have hidden something there, maybe something Sterling's men were after."

Immediately the others stood, instantly ready to go, eager to be moving again. Thus, they wasted no time in running to the T-Car and racing to the cave.

A few minutes and broken speed limits later, they were parked at the base of the hill beneath the cave. Robin had gone to explore the cave with the others keeping watch. Not one minute later Robin had returned, and in his hands he held a drawstring bag.

The Titans sat down in the grass beside the T-Car in excitement as Cyborg scanned the bag to be sure it was Beast Boy's. It was. Cyborg opened the bag, reached inside and revealed a rather beat-up book. The Titans drew closer together.

On the cover, it said _My Scrapbook!_ in letters cut out from magazines. All over the front and back covers were stickers of animals. After a moment's hesitation, Cyborg opened the scrapbook to the front page as the others held their breath.

There was writing. It was probably written by someone about nine years of age, for the letters were rather jumbled. It was a note.

_Happy 10__th__ Birthday, Gar!_

_This scrapbook is for your birthday so you can put in cool pictures of animals and pictures of our adventures together! _

_From your friend,_

_Kenai_

There were some drawings of various African savannah animals; a giraffe, an elephant, an antelope and a lion. There was also some grass and some wild African flowers taped to the page. The Titans looked at these for a moment before Cyborg made a move to turn the page, but Raven stopped him.

"Are we sure we should be looking into Beast Boy's past? Shouldn't we be looking for more clues about Sterling or something?"

Robin understood her trepidation. He would much rather be out looking for Beast Boy, but all they had was his old childhood scrapbook.

"This is our only lead."

"Okay." Raven withdrew.

Cyborg turned the page. There were two pictures per page, with various animal stickers and other drawing beside them. The first couple of pages were presumably all of Beast Boy's 10th-birthday party. But something looked wrong about each picture…

"Where is friend Beast Boy?!" cried Starfire.

The Titans carefully examined each picture. Starfire was right—Beast Boy was not in any of the pictures. There was no sign of their green friend anywhere. Gradually, their attention became focused on the subject of each picture. It was a ten-year old boy, with medium length brown hair and hazel eyes that were full or mirth. His skin was tanned from endless days out in the African sun. Strangely, they saw a lot of similarities between Beast Boy and this mystery boy. The shape of their eyes was the same, the build of their bodies was similar, and their expressions would have been identical if the two were placed beside each other. Slowly, the pieces fit themselves together in each of the teenager's minds, and as a group they all gasped in shock, for the boy _was _Beast Boy.

Just not green, with fangs or pointed ears.

They couldn't believe it—here was evidence of Beast Boy's previous life before he was mutated. In the past, Beast Boy had told them that he had been mutated into what he was now, but he never gave any of the details. The Titans could only sit back in wonder as Cyborg slowly turned the pages…

…Beast Boy surrounded by other children, African children, and presumably his sister, their faces surrounded by balloons…

…Beast Boy blowing out the candles of a birthday cake that had _Happy Birthday, Garfield! _in icing…

…Beast Boy swinging on a rope swing hanging on a large tree outside his house—a small, two story white house with a small garage/shop…

…A picture of a herd of wildebeest close-by…

…Beast Boy and his friend, a villager, peering together over a hill at sunset…

…Beast Boy standing with his family beside a fully packed safari jeep…

As the Titans sifted through Beast Boy's memories, they felt a newfound respect for their comrade. Suddenly, the photographs stopped after March 31st. Replacing the photos were articles cut out from a newspaper. Bold, black headlines seemed to jump off the page as they said…

…LOGAN FAMILY IS KILLED…

…ALL BUT THE SON DEAD…

…TRAGIC LOSS OF THE LOGANS…

…WHERE IS GARFIELD?...

…WERE THE LOGANS _MURDERED_?...

The Titans were sick to their stomachs. By reading through the articles, they learned that the Logan family boat had gone over a waterfall, but Beast Boy's (or Garfield Logan, as they had learned) body was not found. It was later reported that he had been kidnapped prior to his family's death, but who was the kidnapper they could divulge. Then, a sentence caught their full attention—

…_and Dr. Sterling has mysteriously left town, after his lab caught fire two days after the Logan family's death…_

By piecing together the past day's events with the past year's events, the Titans guessed that Sterling was behind both events. But they agreed to get the entire story from Beast Boy when they rescued him from Sterling. They stood up and stretched, and only then did they notice that the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. They had been looking at the scrapbook for a few hours.

"Okay team," began Robin, "we now have a lead into this mess. But we should return to the Tower and get some rest before we have to leave for the stadium tonight."

Starfire, Raven and Cyborg all nodded. They got into the T-Car, and the whole way home none said a word, for they were lost in their own thoughts about just how much they might have underestimated Beast Boy's history.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I gonna start the next chapter right now, so hopefully I can get it up quicker. Thanks!


	9. Animal He Has Become

A/N: This chapter is based off the song "Animal I have Become" by Three Days Grace—(lyrics will be in italics) I highly suggest listening to it before reading this chapter! Also, I have looked up the dimensions for the *cough* creature *cough*, but I wanted to make it more epic, so I exaggerated them

**Animal He Has Become**

The hour had arrived.

The Titans decided to fly to the stadium, for it was not that far away; Starfire carrying Cyborg and Raven carrying Robin. Barely a word had passed between them due to the mounting apprehension and worry that was inside them all. They arrived at the stadium at 11:45, and positioned themselves on the rim, looking down into the weed-strewn field.

The stadium was an open-air oval, with stone benches encircling a dirt play-field. Some places of the benches had eroded away, and the stone was bleached from many years in the harsh sunlight. The entire structure was decrepit, and should have been torn down by the city to make way for something else. There were four light structures placed at equal intervals around the edge of the stadium. They still worked, but right now they were dark, the glass reflecting the half-moon.

A breeze ran through the stadium, giving the place a ghostly aura. Robin narrowed his eyes as he envisioned a battle about to ensue; for in his mind, why would Sterling send them here if it weren't to battle on open ground?

He turned as he felt something tug at his cape. It was Starfire, and she looked as distressed as everyone felt.

"Please Robin, tell me—what will we do if we have to fight Beast Boy?"

Robin's heart sunk into his stomach. He had thought this same thought through, and he didn't like his conclusion. He also knew that Starfire was also speaking for Raven and Cyborg, for both were too worried to think about anything else except Beast Boy. Especially Raven.

"I have thought about this same question too, Starfire, and even though I don't like my own answer, I can't think of anything else." He faced his team.

"If there is a fight, then we will fight. We won't initiate, we will only defend ourselves. Just know that if there is a fight, which there most likely will be, that Beast Boy will be fighting…us," he managed to choke out. "But keep in mind that Sterling must have done something to him, and that we would never, ever fight our friend, and he would never fight us in turn."

Somewhat reassured, the others turned to look down onto the field, and thus they waited.

They did not have to wait long, for the light structures began to hum, and the stadium lighting slowly came to life. Instinctually the Titans sprang into a defensive stance.

At one end of the stadium at the field entrance, Sterling emerged. He was driven into the stadium by a large black Humvee. A few assistants followed on foot. He stopped just beyond the entrance, located the Titans, and withdrew a megaphone.

*_Beeeeep*_ "I feel that it is fair to you for me to explain why we are meeting here at such a late hour. You see, as you have probably already figured out, I have Beast Boy with me. It's just that he is not in his typical…form, for want of a better word."

The Titans shared a doubtful glance.

"Beast Boy has, again, been altered to my specifications, and if he can pass this test, then we can move on to bigger and better things."

Something clicked in the back of Cyborg's mind. Beast Boy had been altered, again?

"Yo guys, this man _mutated _Beast Boy into, well, Beast Boy!"

"What do you mean?"

"He said that Beast Boy has 'again, been altered' to his wishes! So he must have done it before! He must be the guy to mutate Beast Boy, or Garfield Logan, into Beast Boy from the get-go, for how else would he know BB's genetic make-up enough to alter him 'again'?"

The others' eyes widened as they grasped Cyborg's implications, but now was not the time to discuss.

"If you're done chatting, we have some business to take care of!" Sterling shouted into the megaphone. "So, without further ado, here is your friend, Beast Boy, as promised!" With a flourish he pointed to the entrance, where two more Humvees appeared, seeming to tow something along behind them.

The Titan's mouths dropped in shock.

It was an enormous spinosaurus (A/N: please please look it up if you don't know what that is). _Beast Boy _was a gigantic dinosaur unlike anything they ever seen him transform into before. The most dominating feature was a large fin extending down most of his back—thus the name _spinosaurus_—consisting of spines extending about 6 feet off his back and connected by a leathery sail. At the highest point of the fin Beast Boy stood about 30 feet, and from tip to tail was 60 feet long. Wherever there was not fin, there were sharp spines, starting from the top of his head and ending at the tip of his tail, which was thick and muscular. His arms were much longer than those of a tyrannosaurus, and his legs just as muscled. The Titans could see every muscle of his body ripple beneath his scaly skin from their vantage point. The claws of his feet were enormous—as thick as Cyborg was wide. There were large, hooked claws similar to a velociraptor as well. But the focal point was his head. A long snout, thinner than a tyrannosaurus', extended a few feet and was jammed pack with razor sharp teeth 6 inches long. He was a death machine, specifically designed by nature to kill.

And employed by Sterling.

Each Humvee, which was reinforced with extra weight and armor, had large chains wrapped around an ankle, so when they moved forward Beast Boy would feel the pressure and walk forward. He needed this help because he was blindfold. A chain was wrapped around his snout, restricting his jaws. On the tips of each claw on his feet, there were bundles of rags that prevented an accidental tear in some material, as well as keeping his claws razor sharp. The procession halted beside Sterling.

The Titans all began to feel a pit a rage begin to boil in their stomachs, not only furious that Sterling had their friend in captivity, but in chains as well.

It broke their hearts to see such a sight.

"Titans, it's time to free Beast Boy. Go!" yelled Robin. Together they raced down to the field. With a thump, Robin and Cyborg landed on the dirt, Raven and Starfire floating behind them.

"Wait! I have a plan that will hopefully keep Beast Boy out of harm's way," started Robin. "We need to focus our attack on Sterling, then we can steal Beast Boy away after the fight. Ready?"

"Wait, Robin," said Raven, her hand on her temple, "that's not Beast Boy."

The shock hit them like a train. Cyborg turned on Raven, "What do you mean 'that's not BB'?! It has to be! Who else do we know that is a gigantic, green dinosaur?!"

"That may be Beast Boy physically," shot back Raven, "but it is not him emotionally or mentally. All I can sense is a ghost of Beast Boy." Her eyes filled with worry again.

The Titans turned towards the creature. It seemed plausible, for upon entering the arena there was no reaction from him. He was just standing there, as if awaiting orders.

"Hmmm…well, I can't see how that can affect our plan. Just be cautious of Beast Boy," resolved Robin.

Sterling had heard this entire conversation, for their voices carried over in the still night air of the stadium. He grinned evilly. Nothing they could do would prevent the inevitable. He made a motion to his assistants.

"Titans, get ready…"

_I can't escape this hell,_

The assistants began removing the rags from Beast Boy's claws.

_So many times I've tried._

They removed the chains from his feet, and the Humvees drove away.

_But I'm still caged inside._

They removed the chains from his jaws, and to regain feeling Beast Boy snapped his jaws together a few times, each with a sickening *_snap_*.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare,_

They removed the blindfold…Beast Boy's eyes snapped open, revealing large eyes with large, black, vertical pupils. Instead of the usual green or yellow of a typical dinosaur, his eyes were a bloody red. The first thing he was able to focus on was the group of four teenagers standing across the arena. He could smell them from this distance, and some instinct was telling him to tear them to pieces. His eyes narrowed in hatred, and with a growl that ripped through air he started running towards the Titans. Sterling could help but laugh—everything, from his special serum to his creation, was going according to plan.

"Sit back and watch the show, gentlemen!"

_I can't control myself._

The Titans stood frozen as Beast Boy, _their Beast Boy_, rushed towards them, mouth open, teeth glittering.

Beast Boy was _attacking them_.

But from there they could see Raven was right—his eyes were red, which wasn't natural in any case.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

_No one would ever change this animal I have become_

They were still unmoving. Just when Beast Boy was about to close his jaws, Raven reacted and created a shield between them and his enormous teeth. Hissing, he reared his head like a snake and struck again, only to be blocked again. Strike, block, strike, block.

_And we believe it's not the real me_

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

Raven created a shield around the entire group and expanded it into Beast Boy, pushing him about fifty yards away. His claws shredded the earth as he slid away, leaving deep trenches in the dirt.

_(This animal, this animal)_

Beast Boys growled and shook his head a few times.

_I can't escape myself_

_(I can't escape myself)_

Trying a new tactic, he started to edge closer while circling the Titans, his fin raised as high as possible, hissing in menace.

_So many times I've lied_

_(So many times I've lied)_

Robin decided to take action, and threw a smoke bomb in attempt to confuse Beast Boy. The bomb exploded at Beast Boy's feet, and the dinosaur was covered in thick smoke. Beast Boy snarled in frustration.

_But there's still rage inside_

But through the smoke, Beast Boy could sense his prey. He crouched, ready to pounce.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

Beast Boy lunged.

_I can't control myself._

From the smoke Beast Boy sprinted, jaws open wide in a roar of fury.

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me?_

"Move!" yelled Robin. He and Raven dodged sideways, and Starfire grabbed Cyborg's shoulders and hauled him up into the air.

Beast Boy focused his efforts onto his airborne prey. Taking two strides and a small jump, he launched himself skyward. His feet left the ground by eight feet.

_No one would ever change this animal I have become_

He snapped his jaws on empty air, just missing Cyborg's foot by mere inches. Cyborg was so close to the gaping mouth that he could see the serrated edges of each tooth and a large, pink tongue.

"Aah! Starfire, higher!"

_And we believe it's not the real me_

Beast Boy retreated a few steps as Starfire struggled to lift Cyborg higher. Taking another running start, he did another small jump, but landed on his left foot and swung his tail up, almost an inverted pirouette. The momentum of his body was stored in his tail as it moved through the air.

_Somebody help tame this animal I have become_

His aim was true, and Cyborg and Starfire we mercilessly swatted out of the air and pushed into the lower stone benches before falling to the ground. Beast Boy regained his balance with a _thud_.

_And we believe it's not the real me_

Raven flew up close to his head to where she could see straight into his eye, his red eye full of fury and bloodlust.

"Beast Boy, stop! I—"

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

With blinding speed, his head swung around and knocked her out of the air. With a grunt she landed in the dirt, knocked out, beside Starfire and Cyborg, who were shaking themselves free of the dirt, cuts and bruises already adorning their faces and arms. Robin made his move next, using his bow staff to vault himself towards Beast Boy's head.

_Somebody help me tame this animal…_

Beast Boy saw it coming, and twisted his head so Robin missed. As Robin flew past, he grabbed his cape in his sharp teeth, stopping Robin in mid-air and choking him. He began to shake his head violently from side to side, but Robin's cape ripped and Robin fell to the ground next to the others. Beast Boy was about to advance when suddenly…

_Somebody help me through this nightmare_

Pain. So much pain. It coursed through Beast Boy's body like electricity. Sterling had his hand on the trigger of the responsible device.

_I can't control myself_

Beast Boy retreated from the Titans, eyes shut tight and roaring in agony. Sterling was a little peeved, for Beast Boy was not doing as he had asked. He was very impatient some times, and this was one of those times.

"Stop playing with your food," he muttered to himself.

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare_

Beast Boy's screams of pain echoed through the stadium. It was unbearable to the Titans.

_I can't escape this animal_

Sterling released the trigger. Beast Boy crouched, his eyes still shut tight from the receding pain. Slowly, the hatred for the Titans increased, until it threatened to burst from his veins. This is what Sterling's special serum was designed to do—overwhelm the senses, increase adrenaline, and angle that adrenaline at the Titans in the form of hatred.

_(This animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal, this animal)_

He couldn't take it any more.

_So what if you could see the darkest side of me?_

Releasing a roar of utter fury ad hatred, Beast Boy sprinted at the heroes with astonishing speed, aiming to kill this time.

"MOVE!" screamed Robin, heaving Raven over his shoulder as the raging spinosaurus outstretched his head. Robin quickly grabbed a bird-a-rang grappling hook and fired at the stone benches just as the careening Beast Boy opened his jagged mouth to kill him.

_No one will ever change this animal I have become!_

_THUD!_ Beast Boy's snout went into the dirt, creating a small crater, as Robin shot away with Raven. Beast Boy straightened up, shook his head, and roared in rage that his quarries were escaping. They still hadn't reached the middle of the stands yet, just high enough for his tail to smack them down…

_And we believe it's not the real me_

Beast Boy started to spin his enormous bulk around, spinning 270 degrees, his tail slicing through the air, aimed at the Titans.

"Go, go, go!" Robin shouted, urging Cyborg and Starfire to move out of the way of the tail. It was not a moment too soon.

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

There was an explosion of rock and dust as the dinosaur's tail smashed into stone. The Titans barely escaped with their lives, and raced to the rim of the stadium before stopping to catch their breath, Robin still supporting Raven. They turned to look at Beast Boy.

_And we believe it's not the real me_

He was still standing on the field by the stands, snout and tail unscathed. They saw him expand massive lungs as he took a gigantic breath…

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

…and roared an earsplitting roar, full of rage and fury. It shook the Titans to their bones.

_(This animal I have become)_

The two Humvees raced across the fields and skidded to a stop on either side of the angered dinosaur. Men leaped out and proceeded to bind Beast Boy as before, using small guns to launch grappling hooks that snapped his menacing jaws shut, and several men ran around each foot as they wrapped Beast Boy's ankles in chains. All the while, Beast Boy's eyes never left the Titans, and from that day on they would never forget what they saw.

He was straining against his chains, using every ounce of his strength to try and reach his prey, growling and snarling in frustration. His eyes, the color of blood, were unblinking as he bored through the Titans in anger and bloodlust. This was definitely NOT the same Beast Boy they knew, and it shattered all resolve.

Sterling came across the field to join his creature, gazing up in indifference. Turning his baleful gaze onto the Titans, who were still recovering from the shock at the top of the stadium rim, he shouted into the still night air—

"This was only a little taste of what is to come, Titans! I suggest you prepare better for next time, for this was a very poor performance on your part!"

Climbing back into his Humvee, Sterling was driven away, Beast Boy basically dragged behind him, for Beast Boy was still struggling to break free. His deadly claws left long gauges in the earth. The Titans watched, frozen, until the procession had left the stadium, and the last of the echoes of Beast Boy's growls had died away. The stadium lights shut off, and the darkness swallowed them instantly. Only then did they wearily turn to each other in defeat and start to walk back home, Raven still unconscious, through the gloom of the night.


	10. Cross Examination

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Please accept my apologies! *begs on hands and knees for mercy*

**Cross Examination**

Cyborg carried Raven inside the Tower as Robin ran ahead to ready a hospital bed for her. Starfire trudged behind them with heavy, tired feet. With Raven unconscious and Beast Boy…gone…Starfire was not able to fly all of them back by herself, so the Titans ended up walking home (of course they had to take a secret underwater tunnel too). Once Raven had been hooked up to various monitors, the others collapsed from exhaustion into chairs, and instantly fell asleep in their positions.

None of the Titans stirred until rays of light were streaming into the infirmary. Starfire woke up first, groggy and incoherent. Once the events of the night before came back to her, she immediately grew sad, despite the sunshine. She settled in her chair to grieve to herself as she waited for her friends to awaken. Gradually, Robin and Cyborg came around and stretched their sore limbs. Then they were all able to get a good look at one another; Starfire's face was smeared with blood from several cuts to her face, and there were cuts crisscrossing her bare shoulders. Cyborg's metal body parts were scratched and dented, and there were a few small cuts on his forehead as well. Robin's uniform was ripped, his normally gelled-back hair was askew, and there was dried blood on his face and arms. In short, the Titans looked like a mess. They turned to see if Raven was alright—she was asleep still, but the monitors told them that she would be alright. They sat there in silence for several minutes, unsure of what to do next.

Robin was the first to stand, his tired muscles screaming in protest. He grunted as he stretched his arms over his head. He made his way to the common room to get some food, and he heard the shuffle of Cyborg's feet and the small steps of Starfire as they followed him, needing something to do as well. They trudged to the common room, where they all got some food, and they didn't realize how hungry and weak their bodies were until food was in reach. For the next fifteen minutes there was only the scrape of silverware on plates as they ate their respective fills. They also cleaned themselves up with wet rags to wipe off blood. When they were finished, they went to the large computer screen on the bay window. They could feel their detective instincts kicking in, and needed to get some facts straight about the mess they had been wrapped up in.

Cyborg and Starfire watched as Robin's fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to type. Robin's brain was a whirlwind of thoughts and flashes of memory. When he finally found his topic, he typed as if he was hesitant to bring back the fight from the night before, hitting each key with uncertainty. Finally the page he was looking for was brought up on the screen.

It was a website that went into detail about each specie of dinosaur that ever lived. Robin had pulled up the page about _spinosaurus_; the page included stats and images of the animal that Beast Boy had taken form of. They stared at the beast for a minute, overwhelmed again at the possibilities of the animal kingdom. In fact, they were so wrapped up in their separate thoughts that they did not hear the doors slide open and close as Raven stumbled in. They were startled as Raven looked at the pictures and whispered "Beast Boy…" with a sad look on her face.

In reality, Raven's heart had been broken at the start of the battle, when she first laid eyes on Beast Boy and his predicament, but she dare not show her emotions and feelings for him to her friends for fear that they would only cause more trouble and stress. But the sight of the monster her green friend had become made her want to cry.

"Raven," started Robin, but he had to clear his throat a few times from the disuse, "are you feeling alright? You were knocked unconscious during the battle."

"I'll be fine," she replied, "but I need some food, and some tea." With that she went to get some food from the kitchen. "Why haven't you guys started any research yet? I would think you would all try and get as much done as possible."

"We just woke up awhile ago," replied Starfire, "and we just found a source of information for our aid for Beast Boy. We found that he is a…a…" she squinted at the screen, trying to make sense of the word, "…a '_spinosaurus'_. People on Earth have strange names for your extinct animals…"

"'_Spinosaurus' _means 'spine-lizard', and rightly so," said Robin, looking at an artist's rendition of a _spinosaurus_ walking through a jungle, its enormous sail reaching the lowest branches of the tallest trees.

Raven joined them on the couch with a cup of tea as they researched _spinosaurus_. They discovered that Sterling had indeed exaggerated Beast Boy's size than that of the normal _spinosaurus_. They also learned that _spinosaurus_ was perhaps the largest carnivore to date, which explained why Sterling had chosen the beast for Beast Boy.

After looking at a particularly gruesome painting of a "spino" attacking a _stegosaurus_, Starfire asked, "Why would Beast Boy want to attack us, though? Couldn't he see it was us, his friends?"

"No," said Raven, staring at her empty tea cup. "That wasn't Beast Boy."

Cyborg turned to face her. "What do you mean?" Robin even peeled his eyes from the computer screen to face her.

"That may have been Beast Boy literally, but _Beast Boy_, his essence and conscience, was missing. I tried to get into his mind, but all I found was…" she paused to find the right words, "…an iron curtain, I guess. I don't know—it was a huge wall that I couldn't get through to Beast Boy, but it was big and vague and almost endless. But I could sense him, somewhere on the other side of that void."

"How much of him could you feel?" asked Robin.

"Very little, but rather strong for having been mind-controlled by a mad scientist, I guess you could say."

Starfire frowned. "But I still do not completely comprehend; couldn't Beast Boy see it was us he was attacking? Was he blinded?" She held her hands to her face in despair for her green friend.

At this, Raven looked down again, her eyes revealing sadness and pity. "No, he couldn't, Star. His eyes were…they were…_red_—his entire eye was red, I could only just make out the slit that was his pupil. It was as if his eyes were projecting out anger and hate to anyone who looked at him." She shivered and closed her eyes to compose herself.

"But _how _is he mind-controlled?" Robin started pacing, giving hope to the others that not all was lost. "If we could find the source of his "hypnotism", then we might be able to undo or reverse it…"

There were a few moments of thoughtful silence. Suddenly, Cyborg sprang up from the couch and grabbed the torn, ragged hem of Robin's cape, holding it up to his face and peering at it closely.

"—Ack! Cyborg! What are you—augh—doing?"

"Oh, sorry." He set a gasping Robin back on his feet, still keeping hold of the torn cape.

"You know how you said that if we could find what is controlling him we might be able to find something to reverse it?"

"Yeah," said Robin, still massaging his throat.

"Okay—didn't Beast Boy bite this?" He held up the ragged hem of the cape.

"Yeah…"

Starfire and Raven waited on tenterhooks for what Cyborg was leading to.

"Well, if I run an analysis of his, now dried, saliva, then we may be able to—"

"Yes!" shouted Robin, eyes wide with excitement. He unclasped his cape and handed it to Cyborg, who then laid it on a table. With scissors he snipped a section of the torn end and put it into a scanner. The teens were tense as the humming machine calculated the unknown substance. Not before long a series of numbers and codes appeared on the screen alongside different models of complicated molecules. Starfire, Raven and Robin turned expectantly to Cyborg to translate for them what they were seeing.

"No way…" muttered Cyborg. "It can't be…"

"What is it?"

Cyborg turned to look at the three of them. A grave look appeared on his face as he explained.

"When Beast Boy bit Robin's cape, I got a sample of his saliva. In his saliva were traces of genetium (A/N: imaginary chemical!), a semi-radioactive chemical that genealogists use when they genetically mutate an animal. It was created to rip apart an animal's DNA so that they could implant their test DNA." He turned back to the screen. "You hit the nail on the head, Raven—Sterling really is a mad scientist to have used _this_ stuff."

There were a few moments of silence as each Titan's thoughts went to their green friend and what he was going through at the moment. Then Robin asked "What makes this chemical so dangerous?"

Cyborg sighed heavily before answering. "Because it rips an animal's DNA apart. Their bodies sometimes have a hard time functioning normally after testing. It can completely destroy their bodies, so scientists were forced to stop testing on animals. If it's not kept in control, it basically eats the animal from the inside out."

The silence that followed was so much that it seemed like time had stopped for a few seconds.

"How do you know this?" whispered Raven.

"I took an advanced chemistry class in high school," replied Cyborg, almost seeming ashamed that he was the one that provided the Titans with such vital but deadly information.

"Is there any cure?" questioned Starfire, reminding them of their original plan.

Cyborg thought hard for a few moments. The others took the lighting up of his face to indicate that he had indeed thought of a solution.

"Yes! Some of the genealogists who weren't entirely sadistic created a solution that would balance out the genetium in the test subject's body in case the animal got too dilapidated or the genetium got out of control."

"What do we need to create this?" insisted Robin. The four heroes crowded around the table while Cyborg drew up a list of materials.

"Okay, we're going to need…"

* * *

A few hours and individual missions later, the Titans were seated in a circle on the floor in the common room. Their plan had been to create a serum that would balance out the genetium in Beast Boy's body, hopefully freeing him from his "hypnotism", as they had dubbed it. The serum had to have specific quantities of various chemicals, but these chemicals were not the everyday household items. It was only through careful persuasion that the Titans could convince scientists to part with the precious chemicals at one point. When they had returned to the Tower they set to work mixing the serum. Their work had taken them into the late afternoon until the serum was ready at last. It was yellow-green in color and had the texture and consistency of a smoothie.

It was then that Raven suggested the she could strengthen the serum with her magic. She would put a spell on it that bound the medicinal properties of the serum with each teen's feelings for their comrade, creating a medicine that not only healed physically but mentally as well.

Raven had placed candles around her and her friends and had turned the lights off to let the full power of the sun stream through the large bay window. Then they sat cross-legged around the serum, now labeled "BB". A tiny bowl of glistening white powder sat next to each of them. There was, again, silence as the Titans stared at the bottle, aware that their friend's fate lay in the liquid in front of them.

"I guess I should start," ventured Raven, since spells were her forte. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"Please, Beast Boy, please get better. We can't stand not having you around to tell your jokes that aren't funny, or to smile your goofy smile, or to pick us up when we're down. I can't believe I'm saying this out loud, but I really miss you. I want you to come back to me. We need you Beast Boy…_I need you_." Even though she whispered the last part as softly as she could, the others heard her with their ears as well as their hearts.

She lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes, which were glistening from the trace of tears. But with a steady hand she scooped a handful of the powder and cupped it in her hands. She proceeded to blow onto it, making it turn a vivid purple as it swirled and twisted in the air, before it snaked its way into the open bottle.

Starfire was next. "Oh friend Beast Boy, please get the well soon! It is unbearable without you here in our home! I would have made the Pudding of Sadness, but I know that you are always victorious your battles, so I have a lot of hope for you to be victorious in this one as well!" She blew onto her powder as Raven had done, turning it a bright orange.

It was Cyborg's turn. "C'mon BB, snap out of it, man. I hate your little grass-stain self not being around for me kick butt at video games or to laugh when I belch or play stankball with me! C'mon man, we all need you here, perhaps more than you know. Please come back to us." His powder was neon blue.

Robin was last. He hesitated a moment before opening up and letting loose his feelings.

"I don't know where to start, except for I'm sorry, Beast Boy. Please know that I apologize for anything I or anyone else might have done to cause this whole mess to happen, but I feel responsible for what's happened to you; not only are you a vital part of this team, you are also one of my closest friends. I feel horrible when I see what's happened to you, and I will do everything in my power to help you. Don't give up, Beast Boy—don't stop fighting Sterling. Don't stop fighting all the pain he's caused you. We're here for you, Beast Boy. Stay strong, like you always are." Taking a deep breath, he blew long and hard into his powder. It turned an intense red.

With all the spells and magic inside, the bottle of the anti-genetium turned a bright, milky white. One could almost see swirls of purple, orange, blue and red floating amidst the chemicals.

Raven grasped the bottle and stood, the others following her. "With the magic comes a little hitch," she said.

"What—" started Robin, but he stopped when Starfire proceeded to examine the bottle closely, turning Raven's hand holding the serum over and over again, a look of increasing puzzlement crossing her face.

"Uh, Star…why are you doing that to my hand?"

Starfire straightened. "Where is this miniature trailer attachment of which you speak? I can't seem to find it anywhere!" She pushed her lips out into a small pout.

Raven, Cyborg and Robin exchanged puzzled looks. Suddenly Robin and Cyborg doubled over, laughing so hard their faces turned cherry red and they had trouble breathing. Even Raven had a hard time keeping a straight face, but even her lips couldn't resist a strong tug upwards.

Starfire was lightyears beyond confusion.

"But, but—what is it you are all laughing about?"

"Star, she, she meant—a, a small—setback," Robin spluttered, leaning on a table for support.

"Oh! I see now!" giggled Starfire. Raven let a small chuckle escape, a smile still apparent on her lips. Cyborg was on all fours, gasping for air when he said, without thinking,

"Man, I haven't laughed this hard since BB—" He stopped laughing instantly.

Robin choked and became somber. Raven's rare smile immediately vanished. Starfire cast her eyes downward. There were a few moments of almost awkward silence before Robin cleared his throat and brought the team back to their main objective.

"Raven, what was this setback you mentioned."

Raven glared at the tiny bottle in her hand. "The setback is that Beast Boy must ingest every drop of the serum. And I literally mean 'every drop'. Any drop that is left and the serum will be useless."

Cyborg considered the enormity of their challenge. "So what you're saying is this; we've got to get a sixty-foot long dinosaur full of teeth and strength and rage to swallow every bit of this tiny miracle medicine?" His human eye widened at Raven's small nod.

"Oh boy…"

"It'll be easy Cyborg, if we just work as a team, as always," stated Robin, formulating a plan in his brilliant mind. "All we've got to do is keep his mouth open long enough for someone to pour the contents of the bottle inside his mouth. Then all we have to do is wait for the stuff to take effect inside him."

"Good plan, man, but there's one teensy problem," countered Cyborg, exaggerating the statement with a small space in between his thumb and index finger. "How exactly to you propose to force a mouth, full of sharp, serrated teeth, mind you, open long enough?" He nearly shouted the last part in hysteria, his voice reverberating off the walls.

Robin thought a moment before giving his answer that although he wasn't sure how, exactly, he was positive that they would find the means once they got there.

That is, wherever "there" was.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" queried Raven. "I doubt we'll be able to find Beast Boy anywhere in the city. I don't think Sterling would send him through the city, especially on a busy afternoon. Do you think we should look in parks or something?"

As if on cue, the criminal screen flashed red and produced a map of Jump City's street. There was a red dot that signified a distress call by Town Hall. Not ten seconds later another dot appeared right next to it. Then another. Another. And another. Eventually there was a line of red dots that drew a zig-zag line through the streets of Jump City, as if following the path of something. Something terrifying, by the looks of the blaring screen.

The Titans could only stare—they had never seen their screen like this before.

"This is one bad criminal," commented Starfire, awestruck at the sheer number of blinking red dots.

"Let's bring him down," challenged Cyborg, punching his fist into his palm.

Right then the chief of police called Titan's Tower. Robin's stomach clenched; the chief only called when it was very serious. And possibly life-threatening to civilians.

"Calling the Teen Titans! Teen Titans! Please come in!" The chief's voice echoed over the speakers. "We need your help!"

"What's the problem, Chief?" probed Robin, putting on a commanding tone.

"We've never seen anything like it!" The police chief sounded truly frightened of whatever "it" was. "It's like some sort of monster! We need you here immediately! Oh, no!" There was the sound of both metal and people screaming. "This is Chief, out!" Abruptly, he hung up.

Robin was still only for a heartbeat before whirling around to face his team. The expression on his face mirrored his own. They all hoped that their predictions were false. They were all scared and hesitant, but instinct told them to still go out with their heads held high.

"Okay, even if it is—" Robin's throat constricted. "It doesn't matter either way. If we are right, then we go through with our plan." With nothing else to say, he could only admire the look on his friend's faces; bold and proud, and willing to do anything to save their friend, even though they couldn't bear to fight him in any way.

It was the same pride that induced _the_ command.

"Titans, GO!"


	11. Rage

A/N: So, so sorry that it took me so long to update the previous chapter! I've just been really busy and haven't had the time to write a whole lot, but it should get better now that it's almost SUMMER! And don't worry, I won't quit writing ;)

I've thought of some possible outcomes for later chapters, and I have a question to ask: would you want to see Beast Boy duke it out as a _spinosaurus_, or some other creature (mythical or not)? Post a review with your answer!

Now, on with the journey!

**Rage**

"I told you, I've never seen anything like it!"

Robin tried to calm the frightened police chief and get him to tell the full analysis of the situation at hand. The Titans had arrived at the steps of Town Hall a few moments before and were currently waiting for the source of the multiple distress calls to appear, their bodies tense. They watched as people and cars rushed past them, screaming and shouting in a wave of panic.

"I don't know what it is—it's some sort of _monster!_" The chief, a usually stern and stout man, shook with fear at the sheer thought of the "monster".

Robin was approaching his boiling point. _Why can't he just man up and tell me what we're up against? _he thought, even though he had a hunch of what it was.

Suddenly a dull roar sounded a few blocks away from the Titans, accompanied by more screams and honks from cars trying to escape it.

At this the police chief turned to run to his squad car, but not before turning to the Titans.

"I've called Jump City SWAT to come and take care of this…_thing_…I really think you guys could use their help this time."

Before Robin could say anything, he turned, jumped in his squad car and started to shepherd people away from the chaos.

_SMASH!_

A taxi cab had been flung into the building next to where the Titans were standing. It left a crater and fell to the sidewalk below. It had hit the fourth floor.

"No more standing around!" shouted Robin. With Cyborg at his heels and Starfire and Raven gliding above, he turned and ran to the source, which had moved two blocks away from the street the cab had been thrown from. He turned the corner and stopped in a narrow one-way street, causing Cyborg to nearly run into him. A few people, straggling behind the crowd, ran past them, their frightened eyes as wide as tennis balls. The Titans were motionless as they watched their opponent appear.

What made Robin stop was a shadow. Cast onto the building directly opposite of them, they could see the shadow of a gigantic beast…a beast that was all too familiar.

A familiar beast with a sail on its back, extending to the heavens.

_Thud…thud…thud…_

Giant footsteps made the ground shake and puddles ripple. There was nobody on the street save for them, so they could hear his heavy breathing. Slowly, foot by foot, a pointed snout appeared from the left side of the building, then a head…then a torso…an enormous sail…two muscular legs…and lastly a thick tail.

The Titans wished for once that Beast Boy was halfway around the world; so that beast looking so much like him, like their best friend, was not him for them to fight.

But he had changed; or had _been_ changed. Beast Boy had been outfitted with a thin, lightweight armor—a mask with the lower half open to free his massive jaw to bite and snap, side plates that fit around the base of his sail, and a long link of many small plates that fit over his tail. At the end of this chain were four metal spikes, adding to Beast Boy's destructive capabilities.

Much to the Titan's outrage, four letters had been painted onto the facemask in the middle on the forehead. In glittering white paint read the word RAGE.

The Titans shook with an internal fury. How dare Sterling humiliate Beast Boy even more than before?

Beast Boy Version Two, or Rage, as he was shamefully dubbed by Sterling, looked even more ready to kill than the last one, if that was even possible.

The Titans could only stare at the friend in disbelief. To someone who had never probably seen a dinosaur like this before, Beast Boy looked exactly as the police chief had described.

He looked like a monster.

The Titans, before they could check themselves, though that his new name was somehow fitting.

There was a minute of complete silence as the two sides observed each other; one calculating, the other wishing. Contrary to the Titan's wishes, they could no longer see Beast Boy. Instead, they saw Rage.

Beast Boy was gone. But not yet lost…maybe.

With a sudden growl and a toss of his head, Rage moved to his right to find a wider street, where he could be freer to battle. The Titans mirrored his moves.

After a few minutes, the_ spinosaurus _found a street to his liking: a wide six-lane street with some cars parked along the curbs. The Titans appeared on the other side.

"Remember, team, our goal is the serum." Raven, Starfire and Cyborg all gave a small nod of their heads, their eyes never leaving Rage.

Rage decided he had waited long enough. With a massive roar, he charged. People got out of their cars and followed suit of pedestrians, running away from the terror just down the street. The mob surged towards the Titans, with Rage approaching ever closer. Thankfully he didn't go for anybody—his eyes were focused only on the Titans.

Starfire and Raven reacted fast, and grabbed Cyborg and Robin, respectively, hoisting them above the surging crowd.

Rage broke into a dead sprint, gaining power and momentum to attack his airborne enemy.

"GO!" yelled Robin.

Starfire swooshed down with Cyborg, Raven gliding behind her. Cyborg took aim with his sonic cannon at Rage's head. Although he hated shooting his best friend, he knew he must, for it would help them administer the serum and help Beast Boy escape Rage. But he still could not shoot at maximum power, for he also knew that Beast Boy was not himself, that he didn't know that he was attacking his friends with gaping jaws. Cyborg set his cannon to ninety percent and fired.

The blast hit Rage's facemask square in the forehead-and bounced off. The glittering word shone intact. Rage continued to charge, not a falter in his stride.

Starfire had to turn sharply to avoid skewering herself and Cyborg on the massive spine. Raven was flying right behind with Robin. He leaned down to throw a smoke bomb, exploding it in Rage's face. Rage hissed.

Raven glanced up. "Aah!" She swerved out of the way of Rage's spiked tail, coming right for her, just in the nick of time. The two birds escaped unscathed. Rage's tail smashed into the ground, the spikes becoming stuck in the pavement.

_We need a formal plan_, thought Robin. "Titans! To the roof!" He shouted and pointed to a nearby building. Raven and Starfire angled themselves upward. They gently placed the two boys on their feet before joining them.

Down below, Rage unstuck his tail and followed them to the base of the building, his bloodred eyes never leaving his prey. He roared in frustration and paced back and forth, impatient to battle.

The Titans watched him, breathing heavily despite the short amount of time they ha been there. Only when Robin drew the flask containing the special serum from his utility belt did they all divert their attention away from the angry dinosaur.

"Okay, we need to think of how to get R-" Robin stopped himself just before he uttered the word that could crush all hopes, even though they were all thinking the same thing. "_his,_ mouth open long enough before anyone gets hurt," he said. "Any ideas?"

Everyone looked in different directions for answers. Cyborg was looking in the direction of the shipyard. From his vantage point he could see a dock full of crates and barrels, where a cargo ship was tied. Beside the ship lay several long iron beams. Large red cranes rose to the skies and gleamed in the setting sun. Cyborg frowned as he thought of something they could use that might be at the shipyard. Then he had an epiphany.

"I got it!" He exclaimed. He pointed to the iron beams. "We can use those beams to prop _BB's _mouth open." He looked pointedly at everyone, implying with his mind and heart.

The others gathered around him, eyes bright with anticipation. "Go on," said Raven.

"If we can just get him to open his mouth wide enough, we can slip an iron beam in between his jaws so that he cannot shut them down on us," he explained. "Then someone can safely slip him the serum."

"Good idea, Cyborg," stated Robin matter-of-factly. "Let's build off that. How can we get his mouth open long enough? How can we ensure that it will stay in his mouth long enough?"

Raven had an answer. "See those two warehouses?" She was pointing to the section of shipyard closest to them. "If we can get him through those warehouses, I can use my magic to place the bar in his mouth, since he will surely have it open to try and…" She trailed off, not needing to elaborate.

"Just be sure you're careful," Robin added. Raven gave a small nod.

"Cyborg, do you think you can find a chain or something to wrap around his feet?"

"Sure, I bet I can. Why do you ask?"

"Just to make sure he won't thrash too much. And Star?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to grab hold of his tail. When he swings it around he can do some serious damage, so I need you to use your strength to hold it still."

"I will."

"Okay…" He looked at each of his friends in turn. "Everybody, _please_ be careful…" He said this looking straight into Starfire's eyes, praying that she will be kept safe, even though he thought he gave her the most dangerous job.

But that's what he thought.

"Will you administer the serum?" Raven asked.

Robin took a deep breath. He knew he had to—he was team leader, and the leader takes on the most dangerous job to protect his team. Giving Beast Boy the serum would mean getting on his head, which would mean getting near his sharp, serrated teeth, and right by his eyes, where Rage could see his every move. The risks were huge, but they all understood that the risks were worth it.

"Everyone ready?" asked Robin. They all nodded.

Rage roared in fury, slightly annoyed at being ignored.

"Let's go," said Robin. Raven took hold of him again and Starfire grabbed Cyborg, and together they shot off in the direction of the warehouses. Rage turned and started to run after them, growling in frustration.

In a rush Raven dropped Robin off on the roof of one of the warehouses, then went to grab an iron beam with her magic. Starfire and Cyborg found some chains for themselves next to the cargo ship. Together they hid beside the warehouse. Robin waited tensely on the roof, crouched in a ready position. Raven levitated the iron bar high above her head, and, levitating herself in between the two warehouses, waited for Rage to arrive.

They were not long in waiting.

Not 30 seconds after they had set up did Rage come tearing around the corner, claws scraping on the asphalt. He spotted Raven, and just as planned, charged with his mouth agape, readying his muscles to jump up and snatch his prey out of midair.

Raven saw her chance. Just as Rage angled his jagged mouth towards her, she thrust the bar down. At immediate contact Rage snapped his jaws shut—that is, as far as he could shut them. To anyone else, one might have laughed to see the surprised look flash in the _spinosaurus'_ eyes, quickly to be replaced by anger.

Robin reacted immediately. Before the dinosaur could unhinge his jaws from the beam, he shot a grappling hook. The thick cords wrapped itself around the tip of Rage's snout, preventing him from opening his jaws any wider. Much to his frustration, Rage's teeth were also doing their job—they were curved inward to prevent prey from escaping death by jaws, but now they held this metal annoyance in place, where he couldn't slide it out. Rage roared in fury.

The all reacted simultaneously, this skill perfected over the numerous battles working together. Cyborg gathered his chains and started to run around Rage's feet, taking extreme care to avoid the claws that were as wide as he was. Starfire grabbed her chains and proceeded to lasso Rage's tail. When she was satisfied, she gathered the ends and pulled Rage's tail until it was taut.

Rage screamed in anger. He tried turn to snap at them, but when he turned his head the bar got stuck against the side of the warehouses. He was forced to face forward.

At the same time of all this, Robin took a running start and jumped the gap to Rage's massive head. He saw a blood-filled eye follow his every move. When Robin landed on his head, Rage started to thrash, just as Robin had predicted. When Rage moved his feet, the chains Cyborg had put on them grew tighter; so much that Rage could hardly move. The fact that Starfire kept a tight grip on his tail took away some of his balance. All Rage could do was shake his head, causing the bar to clatter noisily against the metal frames of the warehouses, trying in vain to shake off the human on his head..

Using his legs to keep a tight grip on the helmet, Robin reached to his belt and withdrew the flask. He undid the stopper and carefully…carefully leaned over the left side of Rage's head, using his right hand to stabilize himself.

Even Robin would have to admit that the thing he saw next scared him so much that he almost dropped the serum, and all would be lost.

He looked straight into Rage's eye.

The eye was a bloody, ruby red; a bloodthirsty orb full of malice, hate and (predictably) rage. It was if this poor creature wanted to tear the world apart with his claws and teeth in his anger. Rage stared straight into Robin, boring through his body and soul. The eye seemed to say "throw everything you've got at me—I will always have the strength to kill you."

It was understandable that even Robin was a bit afraid. But not afraid for himself or his safety; Robin was afraid for the safety and welfare of the person whose eye was behind the anger. Every atom in Robin's body wished that, somewhere behind both the literal and figurative mask, Beast Boy was okay. And Robin knew masks well.

Time to refocus. The gap between Rage's upper and lower back teeth was just wide enough for Robin to slip his arm through. Rage's eye followed everything. Carefully, Robin placed his entire arm in the beast's mouth. Rage responded with a threatening growl. Carefully, he poured the contents of the flask down the dinosaur's throat. The growl grew louder. The entire serum came out smoothly—so smooth in fact, that the bottle was virtually clean on the inside, so the issue of every-last-drop was not an issue any longer. Rage growled so loud Robin's bones shook. Suddenly, the growl garbled to a stop.

Rage had frozen in place. Not literally, but there was a distant, far-off look in his red eyes, staring off into space.

"Everybody clear!" ordered Robin. He cut loose the grappling hook, which then released the iron bar from Rage's jaws, which went slack. The bar fell to the ground with a deafening _clang!_

Cyborg and Starfire slowly unwrapped the chains from Rage's body, and withdrew a safe distance away, followed by Raven and Robin. They were motionless as they watched a change take place in the dinosaur that swore to kill them only a few moments before.

The _spinosaurus _closed its eyes, the blood disappearing. He remained motionless like this for a few moments before slowly swinging his head back and forth. Gradually the tempo grew faster and faster. There were small whimpers of pain occasionally, but the Titans, unsure of what exactly was going on, didn't dare to move any closer.

Suddenly, he stopped. Ever so slowly the deadly creature opened his eyes…

It seemed like a year since the Titans had seen green irises. It looked to them that Beast Boy had returned.

But again, they underestimated.

Slowly, as if it was painful, Beast Boy opened his eyes, and turned to look at the four humans standing a bit in front of him. He became motionless in shock.

Raven found tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. Slowly, she took two steps forward. Her eyes never left his for a single moment.

"…Beast Boy?..." Her whisper was so quiet that it was lost in the wind.

But he heard her.

Before Beast Boy could do anything, the droning noise of three helicopters sounded right above him. Simultaneously, three helicopters flipped on their bright white searchlights, throwing both heroes and dinosaur into a daze.

The SWAT Team had arrived.


	12. Paths Crossed

A/N: I just wanted to say thanks to acosta perez jose ramiro (and muddie!) for reminding me that alas, Robin's cape _cannot_ be cut with ordinary scissors. Thanks for catching that! I went ahead and fixed it =)

As for the question posed on whether or not BB should become a mythical beast, I'm still pondering over it and how I can segway into it—just keep reading to find out! And I'm so so so sorry that I update really slow

But what's gonna happen to Beast Boy? Gasp!

**Paths Crossed**

The S.W.A.T Team had arrived.

Three helicopters with S.W.A.T painted on the sides arrived on the scene. Their white searchlights blinded both teenagers and dinosaur alike. It was as if night had turned into day with the flip of a switch. The Titans shut their eyes tight and hid their heads in the crooks of their elbows, their eyes stinging.

Beast Boy shut his eyes while roaring in pain. The bright white lights and the percussion of the helicopter's rotors were doing nothing to soothe the incredible headache he had, and a horrible wind rushed past his ears. He felt as if he woke up from a coma, a long coma. His brain was slow and sluggish, and his body felt awkward and heavy—he had never been a _spinosaurus _before.

Beast Boy felt the need to transform back into human form, but when he tried to he found he couldn't for some strange reason. This struck his very core as dangerous, but his dinosaur mind brushed the feeling away and concentrated on the present situation at hand.

His prehistoric mind had always been the mind of an animal—that is, whenever Beast Boy transformed, he saw the world as the animal and not a human looking through the eyes of an animal. Therefore, he was very confused when he suddenly found himself "conscious" again, then seeing his friends—even as an animal he recognized them—for the first time in a long time, then suddenly being blinded.

Then add the fact that a mad scientist had used numerous drugs to control him, his poor dilapidated body was at its limits, and his brain was in a frenzy of confusion and pain.

He let out another roar of pain.

Robin opened his eyes to the tiniest slits possible. His hair and cape were being blown back by the gusts created by the helicopters. He saw Beast Boy writhing, eyes shut tight, and roaring in pain. He had to do something.

He tapped his comrades—his voice would be lost in the high-speed wind. When they too opened their eyes the tiniest bit, he pointed to their green friend. Immediately they all nodded, not needing to ask what the plan was.

At that moment, Beast Boy started to back himself up, trying to escape the painful light. Bit by bit, he maneuvered his massive bulk around the warehouses and into the empty space between the shipyard and the city streets. The helicopters followed him.

As the light focused onto Beast Boy, Raven noticed that the helicopters had positioned themselves in a triangle facing Beast Boy. That's when she realized that they weren't marking him, they were _herding_ him. They meant to herd him to the empty space that he was now occupying.

Raven started to move towards Beast Boy, as did the others. They stopped about forty yards from him.

But they didn't do anything to stop the S.W.A.T. Team. They didn't need Robin to remind them that although they were technically causing Beast Boy harm, it wasn't serious harm. The S.W.A.T. Team was a group of civilians—the very people the Titan's duty was to protect—doing their job of protecting the city from a serious threat.

Beast Boy obviously fit into that category.

If the Titans did anything to try and stop the S.W.A.T. Team, then they could face retributions for interfering with Jump City's safety.

But that didn't make watching on the sidelines okay with them.

At that time the helicopters all shut off their searchlights, opting for their normal lights instead. The blinding white light was gone to be replaced by a softer light; illuminating, yet not painfully bright.

"Can't we do something to help him?" asked Starfire as Beast Boy gave a dull growl from his throat, weak and exhausted. She made a move to walk towards him.

"No, Starfire." Robin grabbed her arm to make her stay put. "There's nothing we can do."

Starfire looked at Robin reproachfully, nearly breaking his heart in the process. Beast Boy was unmoving, hunched over and breathing heavily with eyes still shut.

Before she could respond, the ground started trembling.

Beast Boy straightened up, instinctually becoming ready for whatever was approaching. His head turned towards the epicenter of the shaking and rumbling. With his vantage point high in the air, he could see things the Titans could not.

What he saw his _spinosaurus_ brain had never seen before. He let out a threatening growl and raised his spine to its highest extent, warning the oncoming objects not to come any closer. The objects were dark grey, big, bulky and foreboding. Five tanks surrounded Beast Boy, cutting him off from the Titans.

The Titans couldn't believe it. Had it really come to tanks?

Not only had the tanks made the situation more politically delicate, they also made it more deadly.

"We must do something!" cried Starfire stomping her foot down. A small crater was born.

For the first time in a long, long time, Robin was unsure of what to do. His team looked at him expectantly, and to him each second of his silence was shameful. His entire being wanted to go and fight at Beast Boy's side and push back the S.W.A.T. Team back. But he couldn't—the S.W.A.T. Team was at a high enough caliber that if the Teen Titans "attacked" them, Jump City would turn on its teenage protectors, accusing them of interfering with the city's safety and protection system. They could be removed from Jump City altogether. They could be removed from their home.

He couldn't bear to put his team, including Beast Boy and case, under that kind of stress.

He brightened as he had an idea. Giving his team the order to stay put, he ran to the nearest tank and pounded on the hatch. An officer popped his head up, dressed in a black military outfit that was custom for the S.W.A.T. Team, a black helmet with a tinted screen hiding his eyes.

"What do you want, kid?" he barked over the whirring of the helicopters.

Robin scowled. "Stay away from him!" he shouted back.

"Orders are orders! I suggest that _you_ stay back!" He slammed the hatch back down.

Robin cursed. He jumped off the tank and ran back to the others. A quick shake of his head told the others that his plan failed. They looked dejectedly towards Beast Boy, who was whirling left and right, trying to scare off the unmoving tanks.

Robin noticed that every time Beast Boy moved, his armor stopped his movement short. His tail couldn't whip around like it used to, and he couldn't bend his body as much. The ties that held the armor to Beast Boy's body stretched and cut into muscles.

Reacting instinctively, Robin grabbed two bird-a-rangs from his belt and threw them at Beast Boy. They hit their mark spot-on, severing the ties all along his body. With an enormous shake, Beast Boy threw off the cumbersome sheets of enhanced metal. He rumbled in relief and rolled his neck, eager to battle, even though his tired muscles quivered.

* * *

On the closest building roof, a dark figure watched the scene develop. His target, amidst the tanks, was roaring challenges left and right, trying to dissuade his adversaries. The dark figure chuckled to itself as it watched the Teen Titans stand by, looking very unsure of themselves of what to do.

_Cowards_, it thought as it continued to watch through a small set of binoculars. The dark figure had been sent on a recovery mission by a well-paying someone; a _very_ well-paying someone.

The dark figure put a hand on its belt, checking for the special device that would enable it to transport the dinosaur and itself to the meeting spot instantaneously. The success of the mission, and the money, rested on this device.

The dark figure decided to wait for his target to tire before setting out and revealing itself. The figure was one who would let others do the work, while it would step in and take the credit. It was quite fun for the mystery person.

_Just a few more minutes…_

* * *

Beast Boy snarled, exposing numerous rows of serrated white teeth. He whipped right and left, his tail cutting through the air.

A shrill whistle sounded from the lead tank, and all five raised their guns and pointed them at Beast Boy.

"NO!" shouted the Titans.

The tanks, unheeding, fired at Beast Boy. But instead of missiles, nets sprang out and enveloped Beast Boy from different angles.

Beast Boy was furious, but when he writhed and shook and bit, the nets only became tighter. He couldn't move his arms to cut himself free with his claws, and his teeth were useless without the mobility of his head. In a blind rage he started to run towards the nearest tank, but upon moving his legs he found that they were tangled in nets as well. With a sickening thud, several tons of Beast Boy fell to the pavement in a cloud of dust. The street shuddered with the shockwave.

When the dust cleared, the fallen dinosaur thrashed and twisted, trying to free itself and stand back up. But he could only sustain this for a minute. Panting heavily, his eyes closed in exhaustion and surrender. Beast Boy lay defeated in the middle of the street, entangled in a mess of nets. He let slip a whimper of despair.

Time seemed to slow down while the Titans watched their friend fall. The pavement shook underneath their feet and the dust choked them. But when the dust cleared they were frozen from shock, unable to move at the sight of their friend.

The nets and ropes cut into his skin as Beast Boy lay there, exhausted. His large sail was being crushed by his massive body. As he opened his eyes he could see his friends preparing to battle their way through to him; Raven summoned her magic, Starfire's eyes turned green, Cyborg charged up his sonic cannon, and Robin grabbed his staff.

The mystery figure saw that too, and went into action immediately. Choosing a small red ball from a utility belt, the figure threw it at the Titans.

Just as the Titans were about to spring forward, the world turned red. The Titans stood for a moment, completely dumbfounded. They heard a muffled roar—it was Beast Boy, who began writhing again as he saw his friends become trapped.

They were stuck in a red force field.

Starfire tried to break free by flying into the force field, but it just stretched before snapping back into place and throwing her into the pavement. There were no visible stress marks.

"I do not think we will be able to escape this prison," she grumbled, rubbing her head.

"It's like some sort of gum…" Cyborg observed. His eyes narrowed. "Doesn't this stuff seem familiar?" The others nodded.

At that moment, the Titans figured out that someone else was involved, but whether that someone was allied with Dr. Sterling or out for personal gain was still unsure.

Robin decided to cut to the chase. "Who are you?" he yelled out.

"You mean you kiddies haven't figured it out? That breaks my heart."

The Titans whirled around behind them to face the now very familiar, suave, mocking voice belonging to none other than Red X.

"Red X! What are you doing here? What do you want with us?" shouted Robin.

"Unfortunately, I'm not here for you," said Red X, sounding bored. "I'm _really_ sorry, but we'll have to cancel our playdate."

"Then what are you here for?" growled Raven.

Red X turned his head to look at Beast Boy, who growled menacingly when he saw who it was.

Raven summoned her magic and tried with all her might to find a weakness in their barrier, but to no avail.

"You see, I couldn't let you interfere," Red X explained. "It would've been a lot more fun if I had kept you guys free, but I was under specific orders to nab _him_ and keep _you_ Titans out of the way." Red X drew to x-shaped boomerangs from his belt and walked between the nearest tanks.

Robin found that interesting. "So you've been hired? No longer flying solo?" he jibed.

Red X paused, just as Robin suspected. But Red X shook himself and shot back "I have my own reasons."

With that he threw the two boomerangs to both his right and left. The boomerangs flew in two opposite circles, and each time they reached a tank they sliced off the tip of the cannon. The pieces, which had the ends of the nets attached, clattered to the ground. The boomerangs returned to Red X, who caught them and returned them to his belt. Beast Boy still lay there, moaning softly.

Red X jumped onto Beast Boy's side, towering over the Titans and the now useless tanks. "Sorry I can't stick around, but I've got an important appointment to get to, and your giant lizard friend is going with me."

From his belt he retrieved a small round device. He wound it, then stuck it onto Beast Boy. With a last demeaning salute to the trapped teens, he pushed the red X in the center of his belt. Beast Boy roared in anger as his friends and surroundings started to fade.

The Titans could only watch as Red X and Beast Boy teleported away, their outlines blurring under the yellow street lamps. Then, they disappeared. Beast Boy's roar of aggravation and despair echoed through the empty street.

When Red X teleported with Beast Boy, the force field dissolved, freeing the Titans.

"AAH!" _BAM! _The cement now had a crater, introduced by Cyborg's fist.

"We came so close, _so close_, to getting BB back, but we…we…AAH!" Cyborg started pacing back and forth, tossing his head like an angry stallion.

Starfire just looked dejectedly at Robin for a cue, but the latter was watching a particularly downcast cloaked comrade. Raven was unusually sad, with drooping shoulders and head hung low. Robin suspected what she felt for Beast Boy; he knew he would feel the same for Starfire if she were in Beast Boy's position.

He could feel his teammates losing it; the edges were becoming frayed as their worry and frustration and exhaustion increased, draining them of what little resolve they had. He couldn't say that he felt different for risk of being a hypocrite.

_If only we acted sooner…_Robin thought. _If only we had cut the nets…if only…if only…NO_

Robin shook his head a couple times to clear his thoughts. This was NOT the time to lose hope.

Which is exactly what he told his team.

Robin pointed out that they now had a lead—Red X. It wasn't much of a lead, since they had no idea where X took Beast Boy, but it was something.

Something they couldn't take for granted.

* * *

The suggestion was made to return to the Tower for some rest, and after a tired agreement, Raven whisked them away with her magic. Each Titan went to his or her room and went straight to bed.

But none could sleep.

Raven kept tossing and turning, even though her exhausted body and mind could use sleep. She just couldn't shake the images from her mind. They played like a movie projected on her eyes…

…His look of anger and hate while attacking them…

…His roar of anger…

…And pain…

…His desperate eyes…

Raven shot up straight in her bed, breathing heavy. She took a few breaths as she tried to calm herself from the flood of recent memories. Then, she did something that she hadn't done in many years, and would kill if her friends saw…

She cried.


	13. Jailbreak

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't kill me for taking so long to update—I don't know what's gotten into me! Here is the next installment, and I'm working on the next chapter right now! Happy Holidays!**

**Jailbreak**

Cyborg entered the common room the next morning, half expecting his "little grass stain" to be making tofu waffles. With a sad smile he remembered that Beast Boy was always the last one to rise anyways. He heard a "ding!" and realized that he was not alone.

Raven pulled a mug out of the microwave and set about making her usual tea. She turned as she sensed Cyborg's presence, and Cyborg had to stop himself from gasping.

She looked terrible. Her eyes had bags underneath them from lack of sleep, her shoulders drooped. Her mouth, usually a stoic straight line, was turned down at the corners. Her eyes stared out sadly, showing sadness and emptiness unlike anything Cyborg had ever seen out of her.

"Morning," she croaked. She sounded exhausted, due to little to none sleep compiled with hours of sobbing. Cyborg noticed her entire exterior was all wrapped up in his interior; she looked the way he felt.

"Hey," he replied. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Cyborg started making himself something to eat. As he cooked his bacon, Starfire wandered into the common room, stretching and yawning.

"Morning, friends," she said sleepily. She didn't look as bad as Raven, but still showed signs of a stressful night. She took a seat on the couch and stared listlessly out the bay window. A sudden thought crossed her mind that made her sit up.

"Where is friend Robin?"

Cyborg and Raven looked up from their breakfast. They didn't know where their black-haired leader was; he was usually awake before any of them.

Cyborg went onto the Titan computer and looked through heat cameras to find Robin. As his search continued he grew more and more puzzled.

"He's not in the Tower at all," he muttered.

"Why not?" asked Starfire, worry lacing her voice.

"Is he on the roof?" chipped in Raven, staring at her tea as if she wanted to drown herself in the dregs.

Cyborg shook his head. "No, I checked that. He's just not here."

Starfire stood up. "Well, I believe he will return home soon. In the meantime, I shall go cleanse myself in the warm rain creator." With that she strode off to the shower.

_That's not a bad idea,_ thought Cyborg. _We all could use a shower_. He glanced at Raven.

"I think we should follow Starfire's example," he said. She just nodded slowly.

Before long, the three teens had showered and cleaned themselves, and were admittedly feeling a little better. Even Raven had perked up a bit. Now they just sat in the common room, unsure of what to do before their leader returned, and all lost in their own thoughts.

When the clock showed noon, Robin entered the common room.

Raven, Starfire and Cyborg stood up and went to greet him. After they said their "Morning"s and "Where have you been?"s, they all sat around the table as he told them what he had been doing that morning.

"I thought I'd wake up early this morning because I got to thinking last night that I would investigate the scene last night," he started. "So I went to the shipyard and retraced our steps to see if anything we may have missed last night might help us in our search for Beast Boy.

And I found something."

The other's eyes grew wide and they sat on the edges of their seats.

Robin reached to his belt and pulled out a small round device. It was black, except for a trademark red letter—X. The others knew it looked familiar from the night before, but where it came into play was lost.

Cyborg took it and turned it over in his hands. "Red-X, huh? Man, I wish I got my hands on that ba—"

"Wait," interrupted Robin, "I found something inside of it." He pulled from his pocket a small slip of paper. It said: _Old power plant; 36°N, 45°W_

"The old power plant," mused Raven, but truth be told she had never heard of the power plant, as had the others.

Starfire frowned. "With both longitude and latitude? This is most puzzling…"

It is safe to say that they really didn't have a clue as to what the paper might mean.

"Don't you guys get it?" growled Robin, suddenly sounding very frustrated at his teammates' lack of comprehension. He might as well spell it out for them.

"Why do we use latitude and longitude?"

Cyborg answered immediately. "For directions."

"Right, and why might Red-X have a building on that paper?"

Starfire pondered. "Maybe he wished to visit this old power plant?"

"Correct. Now—" Robin stopped at the look on Raven's face.

"Are you saying that Bea—he…he…he's at the power plant?" she whispered. Her eyes went wide, and that moment, Robin thought if he pulled an "April Fools!" she would have crumbled.

Thankfully, he didn't need to.

Robin nodded.

_***Flashback to the night before***_

The uncomfortable squeezing of teleportation faded as Red-X and his captive appeared on the basement floor of the old power plant located on a lonely hill high above Jump City, which was just a small set of twinkling lights beneath it. Red X could tell the room they were in had very high a ceiling due to the chilly draft. The room was a bit dim from the outdated lights. His employer promised him a large sum of money in exchange for the reptile, and Red X was not one to turn away sweet lettuce. Red X had learned through time that the least questions asked and the faster the job, the better the pay.

Beast Boy groggily opened his eyes, his head pounding from sensory overload. He hissed in discomfort, his limbs all twisted beneath him, and Red X standing on his shoulders. His sail drooped onto the floor.

There came the sound of slow clapping from the dark. Sterling emerged looking very smug.

"Well done, well done," he said appraisingly. He walked around Beast Boy, checking to make sure everything was in order, even kicking Beast Boy's massive foot to be sure that this wasn't an illusion. Beast Boy growled, but this did nothing to alleviate his headache. He lay his head back down on the floor and sighed in resignation.

Sterling nodded. "You may go now." He distractedly pointed to the exit out to Red X.

Red X didn't move. If he had his mask off one might have seen his eyes narrowing.

"Not until I get paid. You promised me money!"

Sterling stopped his examination and turned to Red X with a trace of amusement lurking in his silver eyes.

"I think you misunderstood me earlier," he began, "but I didn't say you would be paid in money, you see—"

"You _hired_ me, you ba—"

"Stop squawking, you child," spat Sterling. "I said you would receive the highest gratification I could afford to give, so—I give you my thanks on a job well done." He then looked pointedly at the exit.

Red X clenched his fists in anger. How could he have been cheated by this geezer?

"Either pay me or you'll be back to square one," he threatened. He withdrew the spare teleportation device from his belt and placed it on Beast Boy's neck. Sterling merely laughed.

"You really don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" He snapped his fingers. Two figures dressed in black leapt from the shadows and held knives to Red X's throat. Sterling smiled.

"Now, be a good little boy, and kindly step off my _Spinosaurus_, else my henchmen won't hesitate to drag your body off for you."

Red X thought desperately for a way out, but to no avail. He stepped off Beast Boy, only to be grabbed by the two henchmen. Judging by their size, he concluded that if he were to shake them off, his shoulders would be dearly parted from their sockets. He had no choice but to be pushed towards the exit. Red X knew when a fight was unnecessary; therefore he wasn't going to risk injury for some cash that he could rob later.

"Wait," commanded Sterling. "Since he's been so cooperative, we should pay him."

Red X straightened up, but suspicion tensed his body.

Sterling dug through his pockets as he walked to Red X. "Ah, here we go!" He flipped Red X a quarter and three nickels.

Red X was fuming as he was pushed away from a cackling Sterling. The large metal doors shut with a _bang_, bringing in their wake a still silence.

Sterling walked until he was right next to Beast Boy's visible eye. Beast Boy just stared back forlornly, utterly exhausted.

Sterling chuckled. "Welcome back, my friend." He put two fingers to his mouth and whistled. A crane began lowering chains above Beast Boy. From a side door came numerous assistants who began looping the chains around Beast Boy's feet and neck. Sterling flipped a few switches, fully illuminating the room. Beast Boy blinked and saw several massive generators, each about six stories tall. But where there should have been two more there loomed an enormous cage with one side wide open like a door. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know its intentions. With a slight jerk, the crane started hoisting his legs up into the air. Beast Boy was practically inverted before the crane started moving towards the cage, dragging his tail, sail, and head on the ground. Beast Boy growled and tried to move his head, but the chains around his neck were being held by several assistants apiece, so when he moved his head the chains tightened around his throat, therefore restricting his movement.

When Beast Boy was entirely in the cage, the crane released its load and quickly reversed out of the cage, followed by the closing of the door automatically. Beast Boy dropped to the ground with a thud that shook the entire room. Sterling drew close to the thick steel bars before addressing his captive.

"Don't even think about escaping any time in the future, for these bars are electrically reinforced. And for good measure, you need another dose." He withdrew a small yellow vial and a pistol. He loaded the pistol with the vial and shot at the base of Beast Boy's neck. Beast Boy didn't even try to dodge it.

"It's a special serum of mine—it prevents you from reverting back to your normal self, or any other self for that matter." Beast Boy felt a numbing sensation course throughout his body. A low growl ripped from his throat as he watched Sterling stalk away. The lights were turned off and he was pitched into the suffocating darkness.

_***End Flashback—present with Teen Titans***_

"Well then what are we standing around here for? Let's get going—"

"Not so fast, Cyborg. We need to think this through."

"What's there to think about, Robin? OUR FRIEND IS IN TROUBLE!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"…"

Robin sighed and rubbed his temples. "We need to come up with a plan—barging in won't save Beast Boy."

Cyborg huffed and threw himself onto the sofa. Starfire and Raven tentatively watched Robin as he started pacing. Slowly, they drew up a plan, and after Robin located the site on his GPS, they set off (flying was the quickest way), the sun just beginning its decent. Storm clouds rolled in from the ocean, giving the air an ominous feel.

***_Present***_

Back at the old power plant, Sterling contemplated his creation. Beast Boy lay on the floor, one yellow eye open and glaring. A large lip lifted in a silent snarl.

"It's been two days now." Grinning evilly, he looked at Beast Boy with malice. "Your so-called 'friends' are a little late, don't you think?"

The yellow eye narrowed.

"Maybe they've realized what a service I've done for them. I mean, who would want an annoying—"

Growl.

"—stupid—"

Snarl.

"—_worthless_—"

Guttural roar.

"—orphan freak."

Earsplitting roar of rage.

Sterling laughed as he walked away, his bother-Beast-Boy-meter full.

Unfortunately for him, Beast Boy had had enough. _Tonight is the night_, he thought. He could smell a thunderstorm on its way. He settled down to doze until the cover of night.

* * *

What the Teen Titans hadn't accounted for was the distance between Titan's Tower and the old power plant. It would take them the better part of two hours to get there. A steady rain had begun to fall.

***_Meanwhile***_

Beast Boy opened his eyes. Now was the time.

He stood fully upright in the cage and found his sail was about 3 feet from the top of the cage, and that the cage was longer than him. He touched the tip of his tail to a bar, only to feel the sharp sting of electricity course through his body. His previous plan was to escape while they fed him, but that was shot down after they piped in processed meat through a large tube between the bars. He would just have to break out himself.

He had prepared his mind for two days for the electric shock, but it still wasn't enough as he rammed his body into the bars. He shook his head to clear it, then went again. He only had a limited amount of time before men would rush in to subdue him. Thankfully, his body was growing numb from all the electricity, so it didn't quite hurt as much as it should. On the seventh ram the bars started to crack, and on the tenth two bars broke. This broke the electric current surrounding the cage, so Beast Boy renewed his attack with vigor. It was once a sizable hole had been cleared that about thirty men started to pour into the giant room, some with guns drawn. Beast Boy showed his teeth in a feral grin—they were in for it.

Beast Boy lunged towards the nearest wall and slammed into it, causing the whole room to quake, knocking the men off balance. He took his chance and rushed towards the nearest generator. Ignoring the shooting pain, he pushed it into the wall, cracking it so much that the hole grew even larger, bringing with it a waft of fresh, rain-soaked air.

Sterling arrived at the scene when the men open-fired. Beast Boy grunted as dozens of tiny bullets buried themselves in his skin, but to him they were like annoying flies, buzzing and whizzing all around him. The bullets that missed disappeared in the concrete wall, further weakening the structure. With a bellow Beast Boy rushed the men, most of whom turned tail and fled in fright. Sterling just stood there in disbelief. Beast Boy had half a mind to kill him then and there, but escape was first on his dinosaur mind. He quickly pivoted and sprinted and clawed at the weakened wall, roaring in fury. The wall gave in and crumbled.

Sterling snapped himself back to the situation and rushed to the nearest storage closet. There he found his weapon of choice. He snatched it up, removed its cap, and ran back to the scene amid a cloud of dust and debris.

Beast Boy closed his eyes to wait for the dust to clear. When he opened them, he smelled, felt, saw and tasted the fresh air, the pouring rain, the sticky mud and the crisp evergreen trees of the surrounding forest. He forgot where he was for a moment and stood still as he took it all in and refreshed his body and soul.

That was Beast Boy's mistake. Sterling took advantage of his motionlessness and fired his weapon—a massive harpoon specially designed by him. The cap he removed earlier revealed a three-pronged harpoon with springs; when it made contact and penetrated the victim's body, the three pongs would snap outwards, preventing the harpoon from being retracted out of the body. The tip of the harpoon was covered with a special poison, also Sterling's own invention. This poison ate away tissues and skin, and was capable of leaving nothing but a pile of bones left.

Even Sterling had to admit this was a particularly gruesome weapon. But his reasoning for his choice was that only he knew the antidote, so he would let Beast Boy wander for awhile and suffer before Sterling arrived to save the day. Thus Beast Boy would remain in debt to Sterling, and thus serve him for the remainder of his life. Sterling smiled as his brilliant plan set into action with the pull of the trigger.

Beast Boy felt rejuvenated after only a few seconds, and as his brain sent the signal in his legs to rush forward…

Pain.

Specifically in his right side. Beast Boy twisted his head around to see something protruding about 5 feet from his side. His entire body was rocked with pain as the three springs sprung (A/N: I had to say that :]) into action. Time seemed to slow down as multiple thoughts ran through Beast Boy's brain, the fight-or-flight animalistic part against the hero part. He could fight Sterling to the death and end it all there, he could run and live another day to see his friends again. He glared at Sterling with one eye glazed over with pain as he decided to flee, a burning sensation starting to spread through his body from the harpoon, undoubtedly a special poison. He pivoted on his clawed feet and sprinted through the whole in the wall, disappearing in the stormy night.

Sterling stood for several minutes in silence, observing the damage Beast Boy had done. An enormous hole in the wall allowed the wind to blow in rain from the storm, and the lightning would blindingly illuminate the entire room. Slowly, men started to crawl out from underneath the rubble, caked in dust. Beast Boy's roar of both freedom and pain grew fainter and fainter as he escaped into the night.

Sterling threw down the now useless harpoon gun as he walked to his computer lab upstairs. There he could track Beast Boy's whereabouts and catch him. He settled down to his computer, typed a few codes, and watched as a small red blip appeared on the radar, moving steadily through the forest. He brewed himself a cup of instant coffee and would wait until the blip stopped moving. Then it would be time to bring him back.

That is, if the Teen Titans didn't show up.


	14. Lost & Found

**A/N: Just as a refresher, Beast Boy as a **_**Spinosaurus**_** is supposed to look like the one from Jurassic Park III for the most part; teeth and sail a bit bigger, maybe. Just keep it in mind as you read the chapter—Google a picture of a **_**spino**_** to get a good visual; I don't want anyone forgetting that a) Beast Boy is HUGE and b) the Titans are very wee compared to him **

**Enjoy!**

**Lost and Found**

Robin shook his wet hair out of his eyes and squinted through the driving rain, trying to see definite shapes below them. He was being carried by Raven, and Cyborg by Starfire. The lightning drove them closer to the treetops, but it wasn't close enough to make them walk quite yet. By his calculations though, they should be nearing the old power plant. It had been two hours since they left Titans Tower.

"Is that smoke?" Raven asked, raising her voice to be heard over the howling wind.

Robin looked and indeed saw smoke rising from a large building. The plethora of power lines surrounding it gave it away as the old power plant.

"There it is! Get us down there, fast!" Raven angled her body down and shot to the ground, Starfire following close behind her. The girls leveled out and dropped the boys, who instantly began running. The group drew close to the building enough to see a huge, gaping hole in a wall, from which the smoke was escaping. They ran to the hole and looked inside, witnessing what looked like a war zone. Rubble and debris lay all over the floor beside numerous white-coated men. Crawling inside the vast room, they saw five massive electric generators; the sixth lay smashed on it side next to the hole. Several stray sparks had ignited it, but the men had gotten the blaze under control before the Titans had arrived. Now it was just a smoking, charred heap of metal.

The Titans took a minute to take in the scene, as none of the men had noticed their appearance yet. A bolt of lightning illuminated the room in white, before revealing long gashes in the cement floor, made undoubtedly from giant claws.

Robin wasted no time after seeing the cuts made to the floor. He grabbed the nearest white-coated man by his collar. The man was bleeding from his forehead, but otherwise wasn't to badly injured. The man's eyes widened as Robin shook his collar.

"Where is he? Where is Beast Boy?" he yelled, causing most of the other men to turn and watch the scene with shock at the Teen Titan's sudden appearance. Cyborg charged his sonic cannon, Raven levitated with her black magic, and Starfire enveloped her hands in her trademark green glow, all watching Robin's back as he interrogated the man.

"Answer me! _Where is he?"_ he hissed.

"H-he esc-caped," the man sputtered. "He w-was so powerful. Even _he_ couldn't do much to stop him."

"You mean Sterling?" Robin growled, tightening his grip on the man's collar.

"Y-yes."

"Where is Sterling now? Tell me!"

"Up there," he said, pointing a shaking finger at a small window on the second story.

Robin threw the man back down, much to the man's relief. "Let's go," he told his comrades, and they followed him as he sprinted to the nearest set of stairs. Nobody opposed them, not wanting to pick a fight with the teenage legends.

Sterling watched the red blip that was Beast Boy on his radar screen amidst other monitors showing security cameras and various data. The blip was still moving steadily away from the plant, but it had slowed down a bit. Sterling paused with his cup of coffee raised to his lips as he heard shouting coming from the hall outside. He nearly spilled the coffee over himself when four teenagers burst through the door, weapons of choice drawn.

He slowly turned around to face them, allowing a small grin to appear on his chiseled face. Robin opened his mouth to start shouting, but Sterling cut him to the chase.

"I know why you're here, I'm not stupid."

"Good," Robin snarled, "then maybe we can get this done faster—where is he?"

Sterling turned his head and peered at the monitor, and the Titans mirrored him, seeing that little red blip. Sterling turned back to them with an evil smile before raising his fist and slamming it into the monitor, shattering it.

"NO!"

The Titans stood there in disbelief as they realized said blip was Beast Boy, and Sterling had just erased their only lead.

Cyborg lunged at the man and grabbed his throat, hoisted him into the air, and pinned him to the wall of monitors. With his free hand he charged up his sonic cannon and aimed it at Sterling's head.

"I thought you said you weren't stupid," he growled.

"You think you're all that, don't you, you hunk of junk," laughed Sterling.

Cyborg threw him onto the floor, where Starfire picked him up, her eyes glowing green.

"You will pay for what you have done!"

"I'm sorry," he laughed again, obviously enjoying everything. "I gave all my spare change to your friend Red-X."

With an angry grunt, Starfire threw him into a wall, forming a crater where his body made contact. Sterling shakily stood up and brushed himself off, only to have Robin's bow-staff shoved into his throat.

"Stop playing games with us," he snarled.

Sterling grinned a lopsided grin. "You guys are the one that should stop playing games," he sneered condescendingly. He let a small cackle escape from his throat.

Robin jabbed harder. "Spit it out—what are you hiding?"

Sterling sighed dramatically. "Oh, if only you knew what your worthless friend is going through right now. I bet you—what the—"

Black tendrils of magic encased him and squeezed him, restricting even the slightest movement. Robin backed away and saw Raven standing there with her arms outstretched and her eyes blazing in anger. She had snapped when Sterling referred to Beast Boy as "worthless".

"Shut up," she spat, shaking from her anger. "You're going to tell us what we need to know. Where is he?"

"I thought you just told me to shut up—ow!" He gasped in pain as his wrist cracked. "What did you just do?"

"I fractured your wrist," replied Raven coolly, "and I'll do worse if you don't start talking."

"You know, as dark and depressing as your demeanor is, you're not that—OW!"

Broken forearm.

"That's not going to get me to—OWW!"

Dislocated shoulder.

Sterling's face turned red from both pain and ire. Spit flew from his mouth as he cursed at the Teen Titans.

"Your lot can just crawl in a hole and-OWW!"

Collarbone broken in two places.

Raven dropped him to the ground, unable to continue without causing permanent damage. Sterling fell into a heap on the floor, whimpering in pain and immobile. Cyborg and Starfire drew close to Raven, offering comfort with their presences. Robin walked up to him and kicked him do that he was lying on his back, his broken limbs twisted beneath him. Robin narrowed his eyes in disgust.

"You sicken me," he started. "You've been a shadow to Beast Boy, following him wherever he went all throughout his life, bringing with you nothing but pain. But you made a mistake, a very costly mistake." He bent down to Sterling, and saw the scientist staring back loathingly.

Robin made his voice a whisper. "You underestimated him." He straightened up and looked at his teammates. He confirmed his feelings when he saw the looks on their faces. He turned back to Sterling.

"You underestimated his strength of mind to always put a smile on our faces. You underestimated his character and perseverance. You underestimated his bond with _us_, his _friends_." He accentuated his words with a kick to Sterling's stomach.

"And that's why you'll never tame Beast Boy—because you don't realize his true value to us. Any one of us would willingly die for another. And I can easily say Beast Boy is our strongest teammate, because through all the pain, all the sorrow, all the _hell_ you've put him through, he still lives his life with happiness."

Robin straightened up to his full height, ending his monologue. He drew from his belt a pair of handcuffs, chained Sterling to a desk and radioed the police to let them know where to pick him up. He sighed and turned back to his friends. The three of them were looking at him with eyes full of determination, showing their true strength of mind. Robin nodded, and they left the room, leaving behind a broken and battered Sterling to fume in silence.

Beast Boy had only been walking for thirty minutes, but it felt like hours. Now he had no comprehension of his surroundings; his dinosaur brain just told him to put as much distance between him and the plant. The driving rain, howling wind, thunder and lightning robbed him of elemental calmness, and the pain from his right side was excruciating whenever he moved. The harpoon jostled inside of him whenever the protruding end scraped against a tree, and the poison was only making it worse. It felt like his insides were on fire. Dimly he took into account the amount of blood he was losing, but it didn't change his course. Slowly, kept walking, kept moving forward…

The Teen Titans returned to the hole in the wall to start their investigation. The storm hadn't let up, and probably wouldn't for some time. They stepped outside, and Raven created a large enough umbrella of magic to shelter them all comfortably.

Pieces of the wall were scattered everywhere, but large footprints were easily visible in the mud. They were so big Cyborg could have lay down inside the length of one and stretched out his arms and legs and barely be able to touch the ends. Cyborg bent down to examine one and concluded that the tracks were about 45 minutes old. There was mess of mud and debris before the tracks led west, away from the plant. Without a word between them, the Titans started running in that direction.

_Keep going…keep going…another step Beast Boy…another…_

The Teen Titans followed the tracks, barely able to distinguish them across the muddy forest floor and darkness of the storm. Lightning would illuminate their path every minute. It would also illuminate something sinister.

Blood.

Large pools of sticky blood ran alongside the tracks, large enough to not have completely washed away in the rain. The group stopped at a particularly large puddle of blood. Some had been splashed onto a tree. The four just stared at it in horror.

"Poor Beast Boy…" Starfire whimpered. Raven's eyes were glossy and Cyborg's mouth was agape in shock. But they couldn't waste any time; they started following the trail again, but this time at a faster pace. By the looks of the blood, they were getting closer.

About five minutes later, a strange object appeared in their path. Lightning made it out to be a huge weapon of some sort. As they drew close, Starfire screamed in terror and gripped Robin's shoulder.

It was a harpoon—a massive one. Three prongs were fully open like an umbrella, all completely covered in Beast Boy's blood. Blood even covered the majority of the harpoon. Robin could have thrown up in disgust from the gore, but he kept himself together. The girls did not do well. Starfire started to cry as she leaned into Robin's shoulder. Raven dropped to her knees in the blood-rain-soaked mud, looking lost and confused. Cyborg's mouth was set in a grim line, thoughts of going back and murdering Sterling coursing through his head.

"Cyborg," Robin muttered, "check that harpoon to see if it just Beast Boy's blood."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow as thunder roared overhead.

"I have a hunch…I just hope I'm wrong." (A/N: gotta throw a little HP POA in there, lol)

Cyborg bent down and scraped some blood off the very tip of the harpoon. He ran it through some tests, and by the steadily worsening look on his face, Robin knew he was correct before Cyborg confirmed it. He bent his head down as both anger and sorrow coursed through him.

"You were right, Robin," said Cyborg. Raven and Starfire looked up at Cyborg.

"There is more there than just BB's blood; there's a…" He hesitated at the looks on Raven and Starfire's faces, hanging on his every word. He took a breath and continued.

"There is a poison as well. But Robin, how did you know something was there?"

Starfire choked on her tears. Raven looked like she stopped breathing.

Robin took a breath before replying. "Remember what Sterling said to us, back at the plant? 'If only you knew what he is going through right now'? I knew he was capable of doing something more than just…a harpoon…" he ended lamely. A harpoon was bad enough.

"Well then," said Cyborg, squaring his shoulders as another bolt of lightning flashed above them, "we can't waste any time. We're getting close to Beast Boy—the puddles of blood are closer together than before, and he's dragging his feet by the looks of his tracks. C'mon, we've got to hurry."

The group shook themselves alert, and resumed their run. This time Raven and Starfire took to the sky, flying just a few feet off the ground ahead of Robin and Cyborg. They traveled like this for another ten minutes, their worry increasing tenfold when the puddles of blood became larger and larger, then larger still. Pretty soon, a stream of blood guided their path. They started running up a hill, and only when the heard roars and crashes that were not thunder did they realize they had followed Beast Boy along the coast.

"Starfire! Raven!" Robin shouted. "Fly ahead and see if you can find him! He's probably running out of pathways!"

Starfire and Raven nodded and shot off. They became the size of Robin's pinkie finger when they suddenly turned and looked at something on their left. Cyborg saw them mouth something joyous, but in a split second their faces were pure horror. Robin and Cyborg could hear Raven's painful scream over the combined sounds of the storm and ocean. It turned their insides to ice. They doubled their pace to breakneck speed.

The girls were freely crying, kneeling facing an enormous boulder, but it was what was at the base of the boulder that was the cause of their pain.

Beast Boy lay there, motionless.

Robin and Cyborg slid to a stop behind the girls. The sight before them was unlike anything they had ever seen before, and they felt like they just run into brick walls.

Beast Boy lay on his left side up against the boulder, his sail bent at an awkward angle. His head lay in the mud, his eye closed, and a pool of blood was emanating from his right side. The sight of his wound was unbearable; no more was there flesh; his ribs, shining white in the dark, were exposed to the elements. All the surrounding flesh had been eaten away, leaving behind a hole in Beast Boy's side about eight feet wide. This was the cause of the amount of blood lost. As the hole steadily grew wider from the poison more of the thick red liquid left Beast Boy's body. The hole wasn't that deep in comparison to its length, so none of Beast Boy's internal organs could be seen, just muscle and tissue that had yet to be eaten away. Beast Boy was still alive, but the rise and fall of his side from his breathing was just barely perceptible.

Cyborg took a shaky step towards his friend and collapsed onto Beast Boy's flank, his knees weak. Tears cascaded from his human eye unrestricted. This couldn't be happening, not to BB, not to the little grass stain that could…

Robin had to look away from the wound. He had never felt so sick in his life. With an enormous effort, he turned and walked towards Beast Boy's head. He dropped to his knees beside him and placed his hands on his friend's enormous jowls, slowly running a hand across the skin there. Pretty soon he saw three other pairs of hands join him, stroking various parts of Beast Boy's face. Raven used her cloak to wipe away any blood.

Through the thick, dreamy fog in his head, Beast Boy felt someone touching him. With a comforting thought he realized that these hands seemed almost familiar. That hand felt like Robin's gloves, and that one felt like Starfire's. There was a cool metal touch, like Cyborg, and a small, almost meek, hand; Raven's.

Beast Boy lay there, soaking up the peace his imagined friends were bringing him in his dream, separating him from his pain in the outer world. He could have stayed in that dream-like trance for eternity. He allowed his mind to push out further, trying his best to take in as much of the comfort as he could. He memorized every stroke, every slight whisper, every scent he could catch of these people. But wait…these scents were getting stronger…he could now smell both them and something else, like rain and mud…the scents were getting stronger and stronger, finally separating into each individual odor…as if _they_ really were there with him…it couldn't be…

Beast Boy drifted back to consciousness.

Raven felt something in the air change. She stopped her ministrations and looked at Beast Boy as if for the first time, noticing how his breathing had changed. The others saw her stop, and they did as well. Raven focused on Beast Boy's eye, the location of the first sign of consciousness. She scooted closer. Soon enough, a sliver of yellow iris appeared as Beast Boy slowly opened his eye bit by bit.

The first thing Beast Boy saw upon arriving back into consciousness was what he thought was the most beautiful person in the world before she hugged his head. And she had blue hair, wore a cloak in the blazing sun, and was the daughter of a demon.

He barely had time to register what was going on before three other people hugged him as well. His friends were here! It wasn't a dream after all.

After a few minutes of head-hugging, the Titans released their friend and for the first time, looked into his eye—his own eye.

"Glad you're back, BB," choked Cyborg, wiping away a stray tear. The rain slowed to a faint drizzle, and the sky lightened a bit.

Beast Boy heaved a big sigh to show how content he was with them there, but it cost him. He winced in pain as his side shot pain like lightning through his body, and when the spasm was over his eye reopened glazed with pain. None of this went unnoticed by any of his friends.

Robin knew that the time to save Beast Boy's couldn't wait any longer. He examined Beast Boy's wound closer than before. He heard a very faint sizzling sound as the poison ate away at Beast Boy, and observed that it was traveling across skin and tissue rather slowly. Robin concluded that the farther the poison was spread out from its origin, the slower it would travel as it got thinner. But that didn't mean they had any leeway.

He was, however, stumped as to how to cure Beast Boy. He called to Cyborg for help and filled him in with his observations. The girls remained by Beast Boy's head, comforting him.

Cyborg was just as puzzled as Robin. He took a sample of the poison in Beast Boy's blood, but couldn't think a suitable antidote to counter it. He took a large look at Beast Boy's growing wound, then was struck by an idea. He took Robin over a ways to prevent the girls from overhearing.

"Why aren't including Raven and Starfire?" Robin rightfully asked.

Cyborg glanced at the two in question, still stroking Beast Boy's head and talking to him.

"Because I don't wanna upset them, for that would upset him," he explained.

"O-kay," said Robin, still unconvinced.

"Look, for this to work it's going to be a bit…messy."

"Cyborg, what on earth do you have planned?"

"Okay, okay, just hear me out; when I looked at BB's wound, it reminded me of a wildfire."

"A wildfire?"

"Yeah, and I then I thought of ways to stop a wildfire; you know, like pour water on it, let it burn itself out—"

"Are you saying we just let it wreak havoc on Beast Boy until it stops?"

"Shh, keep it down! C'mon man, do you really think I would suggest doing something like that to our best friend?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry. But I still don't see where you're going with this."

"Well, another way firefighters stop a wildfire is they burn the area around the fire; that way the fire won't spread because once it reaches a part they've already burned, it has no fuel, so it dies out."

"…"

"You…understand?"

Robin looked at Beast Boy, then back at Cyborg, then back at Beast Boy again. Then something clicked. He looked back at Cyborg, and Cyborg saw many emotions fly across his black-haired friend. First was the connection. Then horror. Then sadness. The finally acceptance.

Cyborg nodded, not liking his plan one bit, but knowing it was the only way to save his green friend.

**A/N: Aah! Getting close to the end! Wow, I updated fast—first time in months! Haha I hope you enjoyed it—it's going to get better! Also, I know a while ago I asked for recommendations for a mythical beast for Beast Boy to turn into, but with this storyline I couldn't think of a way to fit it in. Thanks to all those who sent in their recommendations in reviews, I appreciate it! Tune in again!**


	15. The Plan

**The Catalyst**

Robin nodded gravely. "It's our only option. But I think we should keep it as vague as possible until the very end for Raven and Starfire; their panic and worry will only make the situation worse." Cyborg nodded his agreement. They turned and headed back to the others.

Starfire and Raven were stroking Beast Boy's head and murmuring things to comfort him. Beast Boy's only visible eye was half-closed in content and exhaustion. His breaths came in gasps and wheezes.

Robin motioned to Starfire and Raven, and the two girls abandoned their ministrations and came to stand by the boys.

"Okay, Cyborg has come up with a plan to help Beast Boy, but…" He hesitated.

Starfire and Raven waited. "But, what?" asked Raven, her eyes narrowing in suspicion—Robin hardly ever hesitated.

Robin thoroughly examined his shoes before taking a deep breath. "Look, I'll explain it once Cyborg gets back with the medical supplies."

"What are you hiding from us, Robin?" Raven was getting mad, especially since Robin's hesitation and avoidance of the subject was centered on Beast Boy's health.

"Please, it'll all make sense once Cyborg comes back. You've got to trust me on this."

Raven's eyebrow ticked. "Fine."

Cyborg clapped his hands together. "Then we can't waste anymore time. Star, I want you to come with me to Titan's Tower and grab some medical supplies. You're the fastest flyer here."

"Right," agreed Starfire. She levitated and held Cyborg behind his shoulders before speeding off in the direction of Titan's Tower. Robin and Raven watched them disappear in the night, now free of any storm clouds.

Raven turned in a huff and resumed her ministrations to Beast Boy's head. His eye was now closed as he rested.

Robin watched her sadly. He knew everyone was exhausted and at the ends of their emotional ropes. His eyes drifted to the gaping hole in Beast Boy's side, blood glistening in the moonlight.

Leaving Raven alone, Robin collected some dry wood for a fire. He contemplated the plan Cyborg had outlined, trying to figure out ways that would decrease the pain and gore.

Especially the pain.

Robin knew that unfortunately there were no shortcuts in Beast Boy's case—this was the only sure way he would be healthy again. He _would_ be healthy again, Robin told himself.

But would he be Beast Boy? Would he ever be the same?

Raven heard Robin walk away, finally giving her some peace with Beast Boy. She gazed sadly at Beast Boy's limp form. His eyes gazed listlessly at the horizon. Why was it always Beast Boy who got hurt? Why did he have to feel the most pain? She would do anything to ease his pain. It hurt her so much to see Beast Boy always kicked aside and not taken seriously, but she did it herself because she was afraid of her own feelings for him. Demon children weren't supposed to feel, right?

A tear escaped Raven's eye and fell onto Beast Boy's cheek. His eye snapped open and gazed up at her, innocently asking why she was crying. This only made the tears run faster before Raven let a sob escape her throat as she threw herself onto Beast Boy. She felt before she heard a low grumble, which was Beast Boy's way of comforting her. It only hurt more that _he_ was doing the comforting when it was _she_ who should be comforting _him._

Slowly Raven's small sobs subsided into tiny hiccups as she stroked any unmarked, leathery skin her fingers could find. Her mind began to wander, and eventually a thought tugged at her mind, forcing itself through to the surface before finally exploding and obliterating anything and everything else. Try as she might she couldn't find an answer. She sat up ramrod straight with a horrified expression slapped on her face.

Why? Why? WHY?

_What had been the point of Beast Boy's suffering? Why did he have to suffer?_

Raven racked her brain, trying to answer it, but became upset when she found she could not. She had forgotten how they had gotten in this situation. She concluded that the past few days of twenty-four hour stress had erased from her mind the reasoning behind Beast Boy's suffering. She tried and tried to dig up the truth she knew was lurking in the deepest corners of her mind, mocking her attempts to try and grasp it. Beast Boy eye drifted back to the horizon, filled with so much pain that even Raven's presence could not pull him out of his trance.

_Think…think…think…_

Suddenly her eyes flew wide with realization.

"Cyborg, do you think we'll need this?"

Cyborg shook his head at the waffle-maker. "We'll need stuff that is vital for Beast Boy's health and safety—stuff that will save his life."

"But what about making him happy?"

Cyborg left that question unanswered as he blazed through their clinic back at Titan's Tower throwing every medical supply he might need into a large sack, everything from band-aids to anesthetic.

"What about this?"

A "no" to the package of tofu.

"This?"

Another negative, this time to a boombox.

"Well what about thi—"

"Star," Cyborg interrupted, grabbing her shoulders before she could offer a pair of tongs. "I know you really want to make Beast Boy comfortable and—" He eyed the tongs. "—er, just comfortable, but we need to find things that will ease his pain first. He needs to be healed medically before he can fully recover mentally."

A sad look crossed Starfire's face; it wasn't her fault that she placed other's happiness above everything else.

Cyborg offered a small smile. "But don't worry, BB's tough—he'll make it through, no problem."

This caused Starfire to smile weakly back at him. She chose to stand by the doorway and offer her support as Cyborg finished his quest. He turned back to the sack and picked it up only to fall back down in a heap. Numerous items of medical purposes tinkled inside.

"I think," Cyborg said as he brushed himself off, "that I packed too much stuff for us to carry. I mean, if this is heavy for _me, _it won't be easy for you to fly us both back weighed down. But I packed everything I deemed necessary…"

Starfire contemplated the sack. They both knew that she alone could handle the heavy burden easily, but with Cyborg to carry as well, it would slow them down, not helping them in any way.

Before either of them could voice their opinion, Cyborg's communicator within his arm started beeping. He pushed a button and Raven's face appeared on the tiny screen. She looked flustered, a first for her.

"Raven! What—"

"Oh friend Raven, how is poor Beast Boy?" Starfire practically shouted.

Cyborg's stomach dropped. They couldn't be too late, they just couldn't…

"No, no. Beast Boy is…he's still hanging on."

Starfire and Cyborg looked at each other. Raven's words were screaming at them to hurry back soon.

They turned their attention back to the monitor as Raven said "I need you to do something for me."

Cyborg nodded. "Anything."

"I need you to bring the scrapbook, the one about Beast Boy's family?" She asked it like she was uncertain about her own idea.

The two paused, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"But why that?" Cyborg asked.

"Because I think it can answer some questions and…" she hesitated, "…and I think it will help heal Beast Boy." By the end her voice was resolute.

Cyborg didn't doubt her for a second. He nodded.

"Got it. That'll be the last thing we pack before we return."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Hurry back." The transmission ended.

"Okay, Star, where do you think-" He stopped; Starfire was gone.

"Uh, Starfire?"

Silence.

"HEY! STARFIRE!"

He heard a whoosh as Starfire's head appeared around the doorframe. "Yes?" she asked innocently.

"Where'd you go? You were gone, where were you?"

Starfire smiled smugly. "Retrieving this." Proudly she displayed a cloth bag. She put her hand inside the bag and withdrew it to reveal its contents. In her hand was the beat up scrapbook titled _My Scrapbook!_ in jumbled magazine letters and a homemade friendship bracelet.

Cyborg grinned. "Good, now we can leave. But how will we transport all this?"

Starfire kept grinning. "I believe, Cyborg, that I have thought of a solution."

Robin returned with plenty of wood for a fire to find that Raven had not moved from her spot next to Beast Boy. He let the wood fall from his arms with a clatter, startling Raven in the silence of the night. The moon illuminated their clearing, the cliff and the calm water below them. He bent down to start a fire, and soon Raven joined him. The two worked in silence, occasionally glancing at the sky, awaiting the return of Cyborg and Starfire. Even in the silence between the two, they could barely hear Beast Boy's breathing.

It wasn't until they had a good-sized fire going that Raven stood at the edge of the cliff, constantly searching the skies. Robin kept an eye on her and Beast Boy, who occasionally shifted in discomfort. It cut Robin to the core that the best he could do was wait.

Raven constantly scanned the skies, skimming over the numerous stars. One star became brighter than all the others…and larger, and larger still. Soon enough, two small circles of light directly next to each other started heading towards her. She began to feel uneasy.

"Robin," she said softly, not needing to say any more. He had heard her easily as he was already walking towards her, coming to stand next to her.

"What is it?"

She pointed at the strange light, now even larger. Robin squinted his eyes and examined it.

"No way…is that what I think it is?"

"Set her down nice and easy, Star," Cyborg called.

"Right!"

Cyborg felt gravity take its toll as Starfire slowed down her load, going slow enough to allow him to laugh aloud at the incredulous looks on Robin and Raven, their mouths agape.

Starfire landed and gently set the T-Car on the ground, the tires settling into the soft dirt. Raven had seen its headlights as Starfire flew it from Titan's Tower with Cyborg in the driver's seat.

Cyborg jumped out and clapped Starfire on the shoulder, catching the other two up on the story. Starfire had thought to use the T-Car to carry everything, and because more space was available they brought a variety of camping gear and food as well. They had been gone for a total of twenty minutes.

There was no time to waste. Robin grew serious again as he looked at Beast Boy, who had his head raised slightly in weak curiosity. The wound in his side had grown another six inches in diameter. His breathing sounded labored, the blood glistened darkly and oozed down his side onto the ground. Robin felt like he was going to be sick by the sight of it. The others followed his gaze, and all were silent for a while as they hesitated to take the next step.

Beast Boy sensed everyone's eyes on him. He raised his head higher and turned a questioning eye on them. Robin shuffled his feet nervously before stepping towards him, the others following. Beast Boy could smell the anxiety in the air.

Robin took a breath to steel himself before addressing Beast Boy directly; if he was the one undergoing an intense operation, then he had the right to know.

"Beast Boy, Cyborg and I have come up with a plan to save you." He glanced at Cyborg, who nodded.

Robin hesitated; here was the kicker.

"We need to cut a circle of your flesh out around the poison to stop it from spreading."

This was, understandably, followed by several seconds of shocked silence as Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire took in Robin's words.

Starfire was the first to speak, sounding sickened. "Um, does it have to be so…so…"

"Not unless you think of another way," Robin replied softly, "but this is all we—"

He was cut short as Raven shoved him, hard. He took a couple steps back and saw the intensity of her eyes. He groaned inwardly; he had seen this coming.

"Are you serious, Robin? Are you _trying _to kill him?"

"Raven, calm down—"

"How can I be calm when we're just going to cause him more pain?"

"Raven, please—"

Raven would not listen as she continued to push him. Robin caught her wrists and held her immobile against her struggles.

"Let go!"

"Not until you hear me out."

"I said let go!" She scorched Robin with eyes filled with betrayal and anger.

She shut her eyes to push back tears. "You don't care! You don't care about what Beast Boy has to go through!"

Robin loosened his grip in shock, allowing Raven to take a few hasty steps backward. She had gathered momentum, and now she couldn't stop herself as she yelled at her friends.

"None of you care about him if it's so easy for you to decide his fate! I bet you even forgot how we got here in the first place! We can't cause him more—"

An earsplitting roar interrupted her. Everyone covered their ears until Beast Boy closed his massive maw. He fixed them all with an irritated eye, displaying his displeasure at their bickering, especially at Robin and Raven. Robin hung his head and Raven looked appalled.

Beast Boy grumbled to Robin, making it clear he was addressing just Robin, before nodding his giant head slowly.

Four jaws dropped. Another bout of silence followed until Beast Boy opened his mouth to jerk them back to reality. Before he could do so much as croak, he underwent a coughing attack. This was more enough to make the other four rush immediately to his head, standing there tensely as they waited for him to quiet. When he was done, Beast Boy wearily lay his head back down, his eye closing in exhaustion.

Robin straightened up, adrenaline pumping through him. All anxiety had vanished with Beast Boy's coughing fit; now that he had Beast Boy's approval of their plan, they would move ahead with no obstacles. He turned to Cyborg to see the same expression mirrored in his friend's eyes. With a small nod, Cyborg ran back to the T-Car and reached into the backseat for the medical supply bag. Robin, Raven and Starfire watched as Cyborg unpacked anesthetic, gauze, painkillers, aprons, gloves, full face-masks, scissors and a blowtorch, along with other small items. The bag was still partially filled with various IV bags and nutritional powders. Another nod to Robin told he was ready, but Starfire thought of something.

"Friend Cyborg, I know you are medically more knowledgeable than I, but do you really mean to…to c—" She shrugged towards Beast Boy's wound, "you know, with mere scissors?"

Cyborg's expression darkened as he shook his head. His reply was a pat to his right arm. Starfire looked ready to be sick.

"Oh. I see."

Robin turned to Starfire and Raven. "I don't want you two involved with the messy part of the operation. I want you two to instead stay by Beast Boy's head and try to keep him calm, okay?"

The girls nodded. Raven looked determined to help Beast Boy any way she could, recovering from her explosion at Robin. She sat down below Beast Boy's jaw with Starfire perched directly across from her on the other side of Beast Boy's head. From their positions they would be blocking his view of Robin and Cyborg while they worked.

The various medical tools were spread out on the ground catching the light of the fire and the moon, giving them all a sickening glint. A chill breeze swept through the camp, causing branches to shiver and trees to moan quietly. It left an ominous air in its wake.

The operation was about to begin.


End file.
